Zukunftsethik: Discussing Responsibility for Environmental Sustainability in the Future with Hans Jonas as a Philosopher and Theologian

Abstract

The threat of environmental destruction is a threat to human existence. The old ethics, which only consider the short-term effects of human actions on the environment, are inadequate to address this threat. Then Hans Jonas designed Zukunftsethik (future ethics), which focuses on the effects of human actions now on the future existence of humanity. This study is a philosophical investigation (metaempirical) that begins with a field survey (empirical) in Indonesia about Hans Jonas's future ethics. This study aims to explore the basis for why Hans Jonas burdens humans with full responsibility for the future existence of humanity and how we think about "divine providence" in the future. Is future ethics about to make a paradigm shift from theodicea to anthropodicea? To answer this question, the study discusses Zukunftstehik philosophically-theologically, involving several contemporary philosophers, such as W. Benjamin, E. Bloch, J. Derrida, E. Levinas, J. De Caputo, R. Spaemann, A. Naess, and C. Gilligan, and several contemporary theologians, such as E. Jüngel, J. Moltmann, and J.B. Metz. From this study, it was found that Zukunftsethik relies on Hans Jonas' theology of God, who is no longer "omnipotent." The loss of the attribute of "omnipotence" in God is based on what he called "factum brutum" in the Auschwitz incident in Germany, where God was silent. Therefore, the threat to human life in the future due to environmental damage can only be overcome through human efforts. Therefore, humans bear full responsibility for the integrity of the environment, ensuring the sustainability of human life in the future.