Leonard Nelson (1882-1927), a philosopher at the University of Göttingen, constructed a system of ethics based on the concept of 'Interest,' even though he acknowledged the critical philosophy derived from Kant. At the center of this is the "principle of balancing interests" based on the "equality of human dignity" on which his political and social theories and animal rights theories are developed. Animal rights theory began to attract attention after the 1970s, but Nelson's theory, which has an ethical basis, is considered an extremely early one. This paper clarifies the structure of Nelson's animal rights argument, and critically examines the unique points and some difficulties.

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[in Japanese]

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This paper discusses the need to reconsider the traditional anthropocentric viewpoint of dominance over nature and to construct a new view of nature that aims for harmony between nature and humans in the “Anthropocene,” a time when global environmental problems are becoming increasingly serious. As a clue to this, I focuses on the view of nature held by Chikuro Hiroike (1866-1938), a doctor of law and advocate of Moralogy, a unique synthetic anthropology. Hiroike viewed nature as a living being and valued benevolence and harmony for animals and plants. This position has affinities with Spinoza's (1632-1677) Deus sive Natura, Leopold's (1887-1948) Land Ethic, and Næss's (1912-2009) Deep Ecology, and it has a bearing on contemporary environmental ethics and the view of nature as an ” emergent self-organizing system”. Furthermore, through his practical maxim, “Do not kill a living things; extend benevolence even to plants,” Hiroike taught the importance of nature conservation and presented his pioneering ideas for the realization of a sustainable society. This paper seeks to apply Hiroike's ideas to the present day and to find ways to make it possible to pass on nature to future generations.

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This paper is the third series of private essays for the construction of comprehensive anthropology, and is related to the theme of the 2022 conference symposium, "Human Existence's Fluctuations in the Post-Human Era." In the first half of the paper, I summarize and comment on the historical background, related movements, thoughts, and worldviews in association with Post-humans. In the second half, I discuss various forms and ways of being in relation to the extension of human ability, and also comment on the problems. The main points of discussion are to gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of human existence. As well as the aspect of individual capacity expansion, it is important to recognize, criticize and control the influence formed by aggregates of humans, AI, and machines organically.

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