On the analysis of the modern natural image in Hans Jonas

the preliminary consideration of the imperative of responsibility

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of modern natural image in Hans Jonas’ works. Jonas is a 20th century German philosopher who is well known as one of the most influential pioneers in the field of bioethics and environmental ethics. His primary work The Imperative of Responsibility［1979］indicates the potentially catastrophic character of technological civilization and emphasizes the necessity of developing a new ethical theory in response. However, Jonas focuses not only on the individual danger of technological products, but also modern natural image as a cause. According to Jonas, this image is ontologically “worth-neutral” and can be characterized as an “Ethical Vacuum.” Jonas analyzes its historical origin and considers the fundamental danger of such ontology on human beings. These thoughts on the modern natural image should be regarded as a pilot study on new ethics in Hans Jonas’ works. However, it is difficult to understand these concepts completely because Jonas has not presented them systematically. He conducted this analysis not in a single work, but only in fragments. Few preceding studies on Jonas have focused on the modern natural image but it has not been clarified in totality. Since these thoughts should be regarded as a pilot study on new ethics in technological civilization, they inevitably need clarification to understand his ethical theory. Hence, this paper attempts to reconstruct his thoughts on modern natural image from related works and present it in entirety.