Original scientific paper

ANTHROPOCENTRISM AND NATURALISM - STANDPOINTS OF MODERN THOUGHT

Ivan Cifrić ; Faculty of Philosophy, Zagreb

Abstract

The empirical research, performed in 1992, on a representative sample (547) of the students of Zagreb and Rijeka Universities, included analysis of the relations between the latent dimensions of the perception of nature-technology-man relation and latent dimensions of the perception of progress, development and future.
Factor analysis extracted the latent dimensions of the perception of the nature-technology-man relation ("Anthropocentrism based on confidence in technology" and "Naturalism"), of the perception of the development ("Development based on optimal use and saving of the natural resources", "Demographic balance", "Development based on in-exhaustible and maximally used natural resources" and "Improvement of the quality of food and change of the ways of feeding"), of the perception of the progress ("Value and moral denial of the progress", "Un-critical technicism", and "Humanistic and technical optimism of the progress"), and finally the perception of the future ("Dichotomous totalitarian society of high technology and new hominides", "Catastrophic future", "Status quo in future" and "Cosmic future").
Canonic analysis of the relations between the latent dimensions points to the existence of two perspectives. The first is relying on the "anthropocentrism", and is optimistic, supporting the existing progress, radically projecting development tendencies, seeing the future with new civilisation. The other is relying on "naturalism", and is pessimistic, denying, from the moral positions, the existing civilisation development, pointing to the saving of the natural resources while foreseeing catastrophe in the future.

Keywords

anthropocentrism; development; future; naturalism; progress; students

Hrčak ID:

139402

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/139402

Publication date:

15.5.1994.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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