Human Nature, Cosmic Evolution and Modernity in Hölderlin
Keywords:
Holderlin, Human Nature, Organismic Evolution, Fate, Culture, Technology, Modernity, Environmental Crisis, Human Suffering, AnthropocentricismAbstract
The German Romantic Friedrich Houml;lderlin developed a unique perspective on the relationship between humankind and the rest of nature. He believed that humanity has a positive role to play in cosmic evolution, and that modernity is the crucial stage in fulfilling this role. In this paper I will be arguing for a reinterpretation of his ideas regarding the position of humankind in cosmic evolution, and for an application of these ideas to the lsquo;environmental crisisrsquo; of modernity. This reinterpretation is significant because it entails an inversion of the conventional notion of causality in the lsquo;environmental crisisrsquo;; instead of humans lsquo;harmingrsquo; nature, in the reinterpretation it is nature that causes human suffering.Published
17-08-2007
How to Cite
Cummins, N. P. (2007). Human Nature, Cosmic Evolution and Modernity in Hölderlin. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 3(1), 18–32. Retrieved from https://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/53
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