The Human Being and the Environment – Is There Always a Seed of Destruction in the Idea of Progress? On the Ninetieth Anniversary of Jean Dorst’s Birth (1924-2001)

Abstract

The key idea of Jean Dorst is the belief that the activity of all civilisations, as their technological and demographic development progresses, sooner or later leads to an excessive exploitation of the natural world. The consequence is that its resources deplete and state institutions collapse. Jean Dorst postulates the necessity to balance the needs of human beings and the capabilities of the environment, pointing to the role of science, politics, and even philosophy in solving these problems. Fifteen years after his death, his prognoses can be confronted with the actual development of civilisation and its impact on the environment, and the question „Must progress always be accompanied with destruction?” can be posed.