Damianus Abun
Divine Word College of Laoag
Introduction
Environmental problems have become a serious concern for
all human beings on the planet. Why is it becoming a serious concern? People have
seen the connection between the environmental disaster and the quality of human
life which means that problems that happen in the environment will affect human life
and other living beings. Climate change is one of the effects of environmental degradation.
Human beings are challenged to find ways to mitigate the climate change.
Many activities or programs are initiated or introduced
by the government and non-government agencies to address climate
change, to prevent further deterioration of climate. Projects on tree planting
and solar power have been introduced. However, these activities are not common
yet, in the sense that not all people are planting trees and having solar
energy, instead of using ordinary fossil oil, while people in other parts of
the world are still cutting trees and mining which destroyed forests and erosion. Sources
of water become scarce because of logging and mining. Thus, climate change is
still the main concern up to this moment.
Activities and programs related to environmental
protection have been done, however many of those activities are curative but
not preventive. Preventive measures must be taken but those measures are not
limited to environmental laws but it is environmental education. Environmental
education should emphasize the balanced concept of nature and hopefully, such
education will lead to a change of perception toward the environment and a change of behavior toward the environment.
The concern for the environment and concern for quality
of life are the main factors why the writer takes his time to write this paper
and disseminate it through his blog. The purpose is to analyze the root cause
of the environmental problems and solutions how to solve such problems
Cultural Perception and Environmental Problems
The behaviour of a person can tell many hidden things because through his/her behaviour people can see what his culture is. The behaviour is a manifestation of culture. What I mean by culture is the way he/she thinks, looks, believes or perceives things. Culture affects the attitude and attitude affects the behavior. What he/she believes, thinks or perceives, naturally, becomes his/her attitude toward the world or things or environment. This attitude does not operate independently but it is formed and influenced by the existing culture.
Robert. W. Amstrong (1996) in his examination
of the cultural variables suggests that there is a relationship between
cultural dimensions such as Uncertainty Avoidance and Individualism as
prescribed by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and ethical perceptions. This
finding supports the hypothetical linkage between the cultural environment perception
and the perceived ethical problem variables posited in Hunt and Vitell's
General Theory of Marketing Ethics (1986). Such a study only proves that there
is a relationship between culture and the attitude of a person toward anything.
In functionalist thinking,
culture is considered a component of an integrated social system which promotes
the effectiveness of the organization and the well-being of all its
stakeholders. Culture refers to the assumptions, beliefs, goals, knowledge and
values that are shared by members of the society. British anthropologist Edward
Burnett Tylor (1874) attempted to define culture as inclusively as possible.
Tylor in 1874 described culture in the following way: "Culture or
civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Culture
represents the high-information “ideal factors” in a system that exerts
significant and partly independent influence on human events or human
behaviours. When an individual is faced with an ethical dilemma, his or her
value system will colour the perception of the ethical ramifications of the
situation (Racelis, 2009). Such argument strengthens the position of culture to
influence the behaviour of a person toward other people, things or the environment.
In this case, culture matters much in the way how human behaves.
Another important factor of human behaviour is their “core faith”.
This faith can be through religion, philosophy, culture or personal belief
and often affects the way a person can behave. Many people believe some sort of
belief in a higher power, which makes religion a large important in society
(Nones, 2012). It is only natural for something that plays such a large role in
society to have an effect on human behaviour (Spilka, 1996) Morals are another
factor of core faith that affects the way a person behaves. Emotions connected
to morals include shame, pride, and discomfort and these can change the way a
person acts. Most importantly, shame and guilt have a large impact on behaviour
(Tangney, 2007). Lastly, culture highly affects human behaviour. The
beliefs of certain cultures are taught to children from such a young age that
they are greatly affected as they grow up. These beliefs are taken into
consideration throughout daily life, which leads to people from different
cultures acting differently. These differences can alter the way
different cultures and areas of the world interact and act (Triandis, 1994).
Culture does not only affect the beliefs and values of people but it
also affects their attitude. It appears to be seen as the culture affects the
attitude and attitude affects the behaviour of a person. An attitude is an expression of favour or
disfavour toward a person, place, thing, or event (Wyer, 1965). In this case, attitude does not only affect
the behaviour of a person to another person but it can also affect his/her
behaviour toward things or the environment.
The interesting thing about attitude and human beings is that it
alters between each individual. Everyone has a different attitude towards
different things. A main factor that determines attitude is likes and dislikes.
The more one likes something or someone the more one is willing to open up and
accept what they have to offer. When one doesn’t like something, one is more
likely to get defensive and shut down. An example of how one's attitude affects
one's human behaviour could be as simple as taking a child to the park or to the
doctor. Children know they have fun at the park so their attitude becomes
willing and positive, but when a doctor is mentioned, they shut down and become
upset with the thought of pain. Attitudes can sculpt personalities and the way
people view who we are. People with similar attitudes tend to stick together as
interests and hobbies are common. This does not mean that people with attitudes
do not interact, because they do. What it means is that specific attitudes can
bring people together (e.g., religious groups). Attitudes have a lot to do with
the mind which highly relates to Human behavior. The way a human will behave
depends a lot on how they look at the situation and what they expect to gain
from it. ( Kecmanovic, 1969). Positive attitudes
are better than negative ones as negativity can bring on negative emotions that
most of the time can be avoided. It is up to humans to make sure their
attitudes positively reflect the behaviours they want to show. This can be done
by assessing their attitudes and properly presenting them in society.
Definitely, attitude and behaviours are parts of culture.
Change in attitude and behaviour or belief or values requires culture change.
Culture change is difficult. Cultural change requires people to change their
attitudes and behaviours. It is often difficult for people
to unlearn their old way of doing things, and to start performing the new
behaviors consistently. However, it does not mean to say that culture can not
be changed; it can be changed if members of society are willing to change their
attitudes behaviours, beliefs and values. A closer
look at instinct-driven behaviour might help us understand this viewpoint
better. For this, we can look at animal behaviour, which is mostly controlled by
instinct. In the case of humans, they can choose to ignore even such basic
instincts and put more thought and analysis into their behaviour. They can also
choose to do things in radically different ways. In this understanding, culture can be changed if people
want to.
Concerning environmental problems, solving
environmental problems cannot be addressed just by creating laws or rules that
prohibit destroying the environment. Since the problem is rooted in the culture
that affects the attitude and behaviour, then solving environmental problems
requires changing of culture. Changing culture means changing the way how we
view, value, and perceive the environment or nature. Negative culture toward the environment must be changed into a positive culture toward the environment. Definitely, it is an ethical issue.
Solving Environmental Problems is A Cultural Change.
As I have mentioned earlier environmental problems
are caused by human behavior. Such human behaviour is influenced by the culture
which in turn affects the attitude of the man on how they view the environment and
finally such a view affects their behaviour toward the environment. Definitely, the
solution to the environmental problems must be a radical change in cultural
perceptions on the environment.
The researcher proposes the following recommendations on how to solve environmental problems:
1. New way of interpreting the bible, Genesis, 1:27-31.
One argument that has been used by the Capitalists originated from the Bible, particularly in the book of Genesis. The destruction of the environment would tell us that human beings have taken Gen 1; 27-31 as an instruction as an absolute power to use and misuse or to exploit when God tells us to have dominion over the animals and to fill the earth and subdue it. Such a situation has been lamented by Pope Benedict XVI when he said that God’s original command to have dominion over the earth has been sorely corrupted. He further said that the task of “subduing” was never intended as an order to enslave it but rather as a task of being guardians of Creation and developing its gifts, of actively collaborating in God’s work ourselves (Benedict, 2008).
John Paul in his
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis reminds us about our understanding of the dominion
granted by God. The dominion granted to man by God is not an absolute power or
a complete freedom to use and misuse or to dispose of things as one pleases.
The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator is expressed symbolically
by the prohibition “not to eat the fruit of the tree, for the day you eat of
it, you will die (Gen. 2:17).
John Paul II continued to emphasize that our respect for creation stems from respect for human life and dignity. Thus all human beings should realize their specific responsibility to care for nature. Each person should recognize that the world is created by God and we are stewards of nature. We must be responsible stewards of God’s creation. Humans are to use the earth, not to abuse it and in doing so become co-creators with God in the process of the formation of a new heaven and new earth. In Gen, 2: 15, it says, “Yahweh God took man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and take care of it”. Such instruction indicates that the dominion of human beings over the earth is not absolute but co-creator and stewards.
2.
Adopting Eastern Views on Man and Nature.
Eastern philosophy of man views man not in isolation. Man is part of the greater reality. The Westerns look at a man more as an individualistic person who is independent of society or a separate individual, while the Easterns look at a man as part of something greater. He is a social being. He is a part of a bigger part. Living wisely means an individual finds his true place in that greater reality and conforms to it. The greater reality is not only referring to society or the environment, the universe but also to the divine reality. Men seek to lose themselves in that greater reality and such reality is divine reality which is called Brahman. Brahman is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being. Brahman is the only thing which is truly real and everything else is only real to the extent that is part of Brahman. Brahman is just like a great sea and other beings in the world are just a drop of water into that sea. Such drops do not have distinct individual existence but exist as drops of water in a great sea. They are elements of something greater. It is the reality of all realities, the soul of all souls, one without a second, the constant witness of the changing phenomena of the universe.
Adopting such a view on man and nature, definitely tells us that men and the world are not objects to be used, but both subjects. The relationship between man and nature must be between subject and subject. Nature and man are one. Both are part of the greater reality which is Brahman. In this case, man and nature are divine in nature because both are part of such greater reality which is Brahman. Man gets his meaning by living in harmony with such a greater reality
3.
New Way of Building a
Relationship with the Nature.
We might
be familiar with the idea of Martin Buber. Martin Buber argued that all real
living is meeting. In the meeting, there is always a relation and this relation
is not only man to man but man to the world and to God. How we can open ourselves to the world, to others
and to God. Therefore he proposed a kind relationship which is the I-You and I-It
relationship. But one kind of these relationship is not really intended for
one or the other. It depends on how we relate ourselves to others, to the world
and to God.
I-You (Thou)
or Ich-Du relationship. I - You (Thou) relationship is a relationship between
man and man or subject to subject. This is a genuine relationship because the
objective of such a relationship is not for the advantage of one party but it is
mutual. We deal with the other as a subject or a distinctive person. Therefore, according to him, we take a stand
either to relate or not relate to ourselves. We can take our place against
whatever confronts us and address it as you or we can take ourselves apart from
it and view it as an object (it). In this case, there is the possibility that a relationship (I-You) which is supposed
to be genuine and only between subject to subject or man to man
can turn into a manipulative relationship which is an I-It relationship. In this
case, the purpose of going into building a relationship or dialogue is only for
self-interest.
While the I-It relationship is a relationship between subject and object. But this relationship can be used in human relationships. In the I-It relationship, the subject is in the position to use, manipulate, and control the other. The other is used as an object. In this case, one is being used by the other for his self-interest. There is no mutual benefit in this kind of relationship. In terms of the relationship between man and nature, simply people accept that it is an I-It relationship. Man is simply using nature as an object of manipulation for his self-interest.
A new way of building a relationship with nature must be a relationship of I-You. Nature must be seen as a subject, as independent and distinctive from humans. Thus the relationship between man and nature must be a relation of subject to subject, both are equal. Not only that nature and man are both the creation of God but both relationships benefit each other. Nature benefits from man and man benefits from nature. Therefore relationship with nature must be a mutual relationship. Man takes care of nature as mandated by God and nature gives life to man. A manipulative relationship which only benefits one side can produce disaster on the part of human beings.
Conclusion
Since the root cause of the environmental problem is the mindset of the people, therefore the first solution is to clear the wrong mindset of people about the environment. Religion is one cultural element that forms the human mind. Thus, it is necessary to revisit the teachings of the religion about the creation and human participation in the creation. Humans should not be understood as masters of the environment but as stewards of the environment. Further, human beings must not see themselves as the centre of the universe but integral part of the universe which means that there is an interdependence between men and the environment. Environment is not less important than human beings but all are equal. Humans should see the environment as equals. As equals demands respect.
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