En este trabajo se presentan y discuten algunos ejemplos de la recepción crítica a las ideas de Jonas, en especial las de carácter ético. Se enfatiza que la posición ética de Jonas no es una propuesta utópica o ingenua, sino realista y conciente de sus limitaciones. Algunos críticos olvidan que el “principio de responsabilidad” jonasiano está ligado a una recuperación del organismo libre, concebido como el centro de la reflexión ética.

ABSTRACTHans Jonas’ philosophy of responsibility is a major contribution to environmental ethics and political theory, but aspects of it have proven controversial. Jonas’ critics, in particular Richard Wolin, have argued that his thought is deeply reactionary. By contrast, Nathan Dinneen has sought to show that Jonas’ apparent eco-authoritarianism is misunderstood. I argue here that Dinneen’s interpretation is too probably too generous, but also that Wolin’s wholesale critique is fundamentally misguided. Rather, the vast majority of Jonas’ thought is of enduring value, (...) including a nascent ecological republicanism which has thus far been overlooked by commentators. (shrink)

This essay explores ways a shift in focus from material to experiential consumption might address the criticisms of industrialization made by Hans Jonas and Aldous Huxley. Hans Jonas argued that the extent to which the market economy drives humans to manufacture material goods is causing us to produce pollution at levels that will make humans go extinct. He concluded we will need to be such cuts in material production that future generations will sacrifice much happiness. Huxley on the other hand, (...) criticized industrialization because it focuses consumers on material goods and away from more personally enriching experiences. Yet, research in the business scholarship indicates experiences make consumers happier than material items, and that consumers will spend money for this utility. This suggests that a reduction in pollution may be obtainable without sacrifice by altering the extent to which the economy markets experiential goods in contrast to material items. (shrink)