First, from "natural nature" to "humanized nature": the relationship between man and nature has changed from primitive harmony to conflict and opposition.
To investigate the changing history of the relationship between man and nature and reflect on the relationship between man and nature, we should start with human understanding of the concept of nature.
In ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, the word nature was mainly used in the sense of "nature", and then gradually evolved into the explanation of "the sum of natural things". Aristotle's definition of nature in his book Physics is that "nature" is the source or reason why its original things move and stand still because of their nature (not because of parity). "In the eyes of the ancients," nature "created everything in the world. She is a sacred and awe-inspiring supreme existence, which is inviolable, leading to the emergence of primitive nature worship and nature centralism. This concept determines that human beings can only obey nature, thus effectively curbing human's arbitrary trampling on nature. As Marx said: "Nature is originally opposed to human beings, and it is a completely alien, infinitely powerful and uncontrollable force. The relationship between man and it is exactly the same as that of animals, and people obey its power like livestock. "Therefore, human beings can only rely on their own kind of dependence to rely on, obey and conform to nature. Through the worship and awe of nature, human beings can resolve the contradiction between man and nature and maintain the original harmony between man and nature. After entering the Middle Ages, with the development of productive forces, human autonomy and independence have been greatly improved. However, because people's understanding of nature is still very limited, they do not have the ability to fundamentally transform and change nature, and it is difficult to control nature. The impact of human production and life activities on nature is still relatively small, and the scope of change to nature is also partial. Ecological destruction can be restored through the regeneration, change and adjustment of nature itself, so people and nature maintain a basic harmonious relationship.
In modern times, people mainly formed the concept of nature in the sense of "the collection of natural things and objects". Nature, in a broad sense, is a universal world composed of various forms of material movement and existence, including human society; In a narrow sense, it refers to the material world different from human society. Nature is divided into two parts: natural nature and humanized nature. With the change of human attitude towards nature, the relationship between man and nature has changed from basic harmony to opposition and conflict.
Hegel first put forward the viewpoint of "humanizing nature" from the perspective of epistemology, arguing that natural things can achieve greater integrity only when people will the outside world. Therefore, people humanize the environment, and humanized environment is humanized nature. In this way, in Hegel's view, nature has become a material thing different from the spirit. Matter and spirit, subject and object have been divided into two parts. The relationship between man and nature has also changed from the slave-owner relationship in the past to the slave-owner relationship, and anthropocentrism has become the basic value concept of modern people. The change of this concept reflects the historical process of the transformation from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization. Under the guidance of this concept, human beings are no longer afraid of nature and coexist with it, but wantonly plunder and seize natural resources on a large scale. Therefore, the ecological balance has been seriously damaged, the living environment of human beings is deteriorating, and the contradiction between man and nature is deepening. By the middle of the 20th century, a global ecological crisis had emerged. After nearly half a century, more and more people began to pay attention to the ecological crisis. Reflecting on the relationship between man and nature, the view of ecological nature has gradually become the consensus of all countries in the world. Although until today, the relationship between man and nature is still in a state of tension, and various crises of modernity have not been eliminated, the difficulty in reaching the Kyoto Protocol agreement shows that there are still many obstacles to solving the global ecological crisis, but the essential unity and harmony between man and nature has become the common ideal and goal pursued by mankind.
Second, from "humanized nature" to "ecological nature": the relationship between man and nature is moving towards essential unity and harmony.
In fact, as early as more than a century ago, many thinkers began to pay attention to and reflect on the ecological crisis caused by human beings' quick success and instant benefit since the industrial revolution. Engels pointed out: "We must always remember that we have never ruled nature like conquerors ruled foreign nations, and we have never been like people standing outside nature-on the contrary, we belong to nature together with our flesh and blood and brains, and we should not be too intoxicated with the victory over nature. Every time such a victory, nature is retaliating against us. " Marx also pointed out: "A human plan that is not based on the great laws of nature will only bring disaster". In other words, human beings should consciously and purposefully use their own initiative to coordinate the relationship between man and nature. At the same time, they gave a new definition to the concept of nature. He thinks. The so-called humanized nature refers to the nature that has personal relationship with people under the influence of human practice, especially production activities. "Nature is a body that people must constantly communicate with in order not to die. The so-called material life and spiritual life of man are connected with nature, that is to say, nature is connected with itself, because man is a part of nature. Marx regards nature as the primary source of all labor materials and labor objects, which first lies in social history, but at the same time, nature is not a free existence unrelated to human beings, but a human nature, a humanized nature or a nature closely related to human practical activities. Man is a part of nature and nature is also a part of man. Man and nature are a whole in essence. The practice of human beings to transform nature is a two-way process: people are set by nature and naturalized at the same time.
Modern ecological view of nature and Marxist humanized natural thought come down in one continuous line. The so-called ecological nature means that nature is regarded as an organic whole, and both human beings and society are part of nature, and all human activities must ultimately obey the natural laws of the whole. On the one hand, this view overcomes the defects of "anthropocentrism", restores man's natural position, regards man as a part of nature, and shows man's return to nature; On the other hand, we should incorporate nature into the development of human beings and society, and regard nature as the natural basis of human beings and society or an organism. So protecting nature is protecting human beings themselves. Man is closely related to the fate of nature. If human beings want to develop continuously, they must fully understand, respect and protect nature and live in harmony with it.
Through the analysis of the evolution of natural concepts, we find that. Under the guidance of the concept of "natural nature" formed from ancient times to the Middle Ages, the original harmonious state between man and nature does not meet the goal of human social development. The "anthropocentrism" view of nature constructed by "humanized nature" in modern times has destroyed the harmony between man and nature and led to a serious ecological crisis, which is being spurned by people. The essence of the concept of "ecological nature" is to establish a new relationship between man and nature and realize the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
Third, ecological nature: leading the construction of ecological civilization
To realize ecological civilization, we must first change our concepts. From man being the master of nature to man being a member of nature, from transforming nature to promoting the harmonious development between man and nature. Only by protecting nature can human beings protect themselves. At the same time, we should establish ecological holism with the "ego" as the value axis, proceed from the value and needs of all mankind, fully consider the development of other countries and others, and consider the development of the next generation while developing the present generation.
Secondly, we should innovate in technology, guide the development trend of science and technology, and make nature a partner and friend of mankind. Since the second half of the 20th century, science and technology have made rapid progress. On the one hand, the leading role of scientific theory is becoming more and more obvious. Understanding nature by scientific and reasonable means and dealing with the relationship between man and nature have a broader vision and a deeper understanding of the natural ecological environment. On the other hand, the role of technological progress in solving the ecological crisis is becoming more and more obvious. With the development of science and technology and the enhancement of people's awareness of environmental protection, people in many countries and regions in the world have consciously chosen production methods and lifestyles suitable for people to live in harmony with nature, such as vigorously developing pollution-free energy and ecological agriculture. It can be said that the development of science and technology has laid a material and technical foundation for building a reasonable relationship model between man and nature. Paying attention to science and technology and relying on science and technology to handle and adjust the relationship between man and nature is the value proposition of ecological nature view, but at the same time, the negative role of science and technology can not be ignored. The alienation of science and technology is one of the causes of today's ecological problems, which is rooted in the "capitalist application" of science and technology and the "capitalist nature of industry". At present, in order to protect their priority position in development, some developed capitalist countries have increased their efforts to claim from nature, and at the same time, some heavily polluting enterprises have been moved to developing countries, and industrial wastes have been transported to developing countries in various ways, which has caused great damage to the ecology of developing countries. Therefore, in order to establish ecological civilization, it is necessary to overcome the alienation of science and technology, further develop science and technology, guide science and technology to play an important role in solving ecological crisis, and at the same time, change production relations and production methods in time. Only by further developing science and technology can we eliminate the negative impact of old technology with new technology, and only by changing production relations and production methods in time can we get out of people's misunderstanding of science and technology and its purpose. Marx has an extremely incisive summary of the future capitalist society: * * capitalism is the premise of its own development based on the development of others, because "this kind of * * capitalism, as a complete naturalism, equals humanitarianism, as a complete humanitarianism, equals naturalism, and is a real solution to the contradiction between man and nature and between people." It is the essential unity of man and nature, the realization of ecological civilization and the transition from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom.