Edwarda Goldsmitha krytyka nowożytnego paradygmatu postępu naukowo-technicznego
Edward Goldsmith’s Criticism of the Modern Paradigm of the Scientific and Technological Progress

Summary/Abstract: Environmental ethics finds many of its proponents among philosophizing naturalists. Interesting attitude is presented by Edward Goldsmith, who built a biospheric ethics based on the Gaia Hypothesis by James Lovelock. Goldsmith criticizes the Modern scientific paradigm. He perceives it as false and critical-creative for the relation of the humankind with ecosphere. Behind that paradigm states specific way of understanding of progress and particular ontological, axiological and ethical assumptions (ex. social Darwinism and ethical utilitarianism). Goldsmith calls ethics which covers those convictions a ‘technospheric’ ethics. He submits assumptions of this ethical attitude for criticism and oppose it to a biospheric ethics. According to the author, ethics that creates favourable conditions for achieving Gaia’s goals was natural for primitive human societies. This ethics required from human to keep a cosmic order – that is wellbeing of individuals as well as the whole community. It assumed to follow an appropriate Way, which depends on respecting definite duties and behaviour, especially in the field of rituals and religious life. Therefore, as Goldsmith convinces, one can protect effectively the ecospheric order only in a religious way. In his opinion, does not exist more immoral venture than progress, which systematically leads to replacement of the biosphere by technosphere. The progress based on the technics leads inevitably to destruction. If we want to survive as a species – we need to return to the biospheric ethics.

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