For a long time, people have limited the scope of moral understanding and adjustment to the relationship between people or between people and society. The rapid development of modern science and technology has greatly enhanced the ability of human beings to influence nature, making the conflict between man and nature unprecedented sharp. Therefore, the moral problem of the relationship between man and nature has aroused widespread concern. Countries pay more and more attention to a new moral topic-the study of the relationship between man and nature. Applying the principles of Marxist philosophy to explore the moral value of the relationship between man and nature under the new technological revolution is of great theoretical and practical significance for us to grasp the new trend of human moral development, improve the moral literacy of our people and promote socialist modernization.
First, the realistic basis of the moral value of the relationship between man and nature
The moral value of the relationship between man and nature refers to the moral significance of human consciousness and behavior in dealing with the relationship with nature. Fundamentally speaking, the relationship between man and nature has moral value, and the necessity and possibility of reflecting and regulating the relationship between man and nature are rooted in the interest relationship between man and nature.
Historical materialism holds that the concept of "nature" has two basic meanings: in a broad sense, it refers to everything including the whole world, which belongs to the same concept as matter and the universe; In a narrow sense, it refers to the natural environment and natural material conditions for the survival and development of human society corresponding to people and human society. The concept of "person" refers to the concrete person and the whole "person" who is engaged in practical activities under certain social and historical conditions. People are both "natural direct existence" and "social existence". We discuss the morality of the relationship between man and nature from the perspective of the unity of man and nature, focusing on the social attributes of man.
Where is the interest relationship between man and nature?
First of all, man is a product of nature. Man must exchange material and energy with nature. "An existence without its own nature is not a natural existence, and it cannot participate in natural life" (1). If people want to exchange material and energy with nature, they must abide by the laws of nature and determine their proper position in nature.
Second, nature is a necessary condition for the existence and development of human society. Among the natural conditions that affect the existence and development of human society, are they natural factors that have a permanent effect on the whole human history (such as cosmic phenomena, geography, climate and ecological balance, etc.)? ) or natural factors (such as minerals, fuels, water resources, etc.) that have different influences in different periods of human history. ), they all play an important role in human productive labor and daily life. Natural conditions first affect society with their processes, phenomena and forces, and directly or indirectly affect society through themselves or with the participation of people. Nature provides resources for human productive labor and civilization progress to ensure the long-term existence and development of society. In the interaction between man and nature, the positive side is always man. It is people who determine the nature of this relationship with their own activities. For example, with the progress of modern science and technology, people make more and more effective use of solar energy, gravity, tidal fluctuations and so on. According to their own purposes, the utilization rate of minerals, fuels, animal and plant resources is getting higher and higher. Social progress is related to the increasing use of natural phenomena by society. However, this in itself increases people's dependence on natural conditions (such as stored coal, oil, metals, well-preserved biosphere, etc.). Therefore, under the condition of social progress, people can more clearly understand the importance of natural environment such as ecological balance and natural resources to the long-term existence and sustainable development of human society. Without these necessary natural conditions, human society cannot survive and develop.
Third, people contact with nature through their own labor and coordinate the relationship with nature. To create history, people must first learn to live, but in order to live, they must carry out material production to meet their own needs such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. Man obtains his own means of survival from nature. However, many important materials are not easily obtained from nature, and they must be obtained by transforming natural objects and producing material materials. Therefore, productive labor is the most basic practical activity that people act on nature.
However, people's productive labor under certain conditions, limited by their own cognitive ability and social conditions, often only pursue immediate interests, ignore the long-term interests of mankind, blindly destroy and waste natural resources, destroy the ecological environment, and cause conflicts between man and nature. The conflict between man and nature in contemporary society proves this point. This requires people in productive labor and even all social life. We should consciously control our blind behavior towards nature. Remember that Marx clearly put forward the important idea of "reasonable adjustment" of the relationship between man and nature in Das Kapital: "Socialized people and United producers will reasonably adjust the material exchange between them and nature and put it under their common control, instead of letting it rule itself as a blind force and consume it with the least power, at the most peaceful time.
The interest relationship between man and nature not only shows that man is a part of nature and the natural environment is a necessary condition for the existence and development of human society, but also shows that human beings exchange materials with nature through labor and promote the complementarity between man and nature. The productive labor of human beings has created "humanized nature", promoted the evolution of nature, and in turn promoted the civilization and progress of society. To what extent science and technology develop, human beings must protect or reproduce the diversified natural conditions needed by human life and make rational use of natural resources, which requires us to rationally adjust human attitudes and behaviors towards nature. In social life, there are many ways to "rationally adjust" the relationship between man and nature, one of which is moral adjustment. The morality of "harmony between man and nature" is formed on the basis that the relationship between man and nature is closely related to human interests.
Under the condition that human productivity is not very developed, people's understanding of the relationship between man and nature has historical limitations, and the morality of "the unity of man and nature" is still in a fragmentary and hazy understanding. Since the 20th century, the modern scientific and technological revolution has greatly improved the productive capacity of human beings, expanded the scope of human activities and the ability to influence nature, and promoted the deepening of the interest relationship between man and nature. Finally, the moral concept of "harmony between man and nature" was formed. With the advent of the era of contemporary scientific and technological revolution, the potential interest relationship between man and nature has been more fully revealed, which makes people look at the relationship between man and nature, labor and morality, science and ethics with a brand-new eye, and makes people more consciously realize the urgency of establishing a harmonious new relationship between man and nature, thus expanding the scope of moral regulation to the relationship between man and nature.
Second, the moral characteristics and social functions of the relationship between man and nature
Marxism holds that in the relationship between man and nature, the positive and dominant aspect is man, and the subject of moral activities is man. In the relationship between man and nature, human beings have all the responsibilities and obligations to rationally adjust this relationship. When there is a conflict between man and nature, human beings can only exert their unique subjective initiative, understand and grasp the laws of nature in a positive way, and find ways and means to coordinate the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
Because the morality of the relationship between man and nature is a part of social morality, like the whole morality, it is dominated by the general law of social spiritual production, which makes the moral concept of "harmony between man and nature" under certain historical conditions restricted by certain social, economic and cultural conditions, thus making people's moral concept of "harmony between man and nature" fettered by certain social or class interests. However, the moral concept of "harmony between man and nature" is related to general social morality or class morality after all. Compared with all other existing social morality, it has the same gender as human beings. First, it is the moral responsibility that human beings face in the process of social development to rationally regulate human behavior and improve the relationship between man and nature. Second, the realistic relationship reflected by the morality of "harmony between man and nature" is a reflection of the conflict between man and nature in the development of science and technology and productive forces. Third, adjust.
The human homogeneity of the morality of "harmony between man and nature" is not only reflected in the fact that human beings have the same interests in the relationship between man and nature, but also in the fact that human beings have the same moral standards, norms and commandments. In the * * * homogeneous moral standards and norms of "harmony between man and nature", it embodies the "survival wisdom" of human beings to transform nature and benefit mankind on the basis of understanding the laws of nature. The morality of "harmony between man and nature" is a way for human beings to understand and grasp the relationship between man and nature in the form of spirit, which embodies the wisdom of human beings to understand and transform the relationship between man and nature. The morality of "harmony between man and nature" starts from the individual's responsibility and interest relationship to others and society as a whole, and always understands the interest relationship between man and nature and the specific requirements for human behavior. In this process, the social practice of the interaction between man and nature is the basis of the moral cognitive function of "harmony between man and nature". The establishment of the moral concept of "harmony between man and nature" divides the behavior in the interaction between man and nature into beneficial and harmful, good and evil, and should and should not. The morality of "harmony between man and nature" helps people to understand people in nature in a practical sense. By choosing the right behavior and the road of civilization development, people can realize the rationality of the morality of "harmony between man and nature", make a correct judgment on the right and wrong behavior of themselves and others, and strive to create a harmonious relationship between man and nature and improve their self-personality in their own practice according to the principle of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.
The realization of the moral adjustment function of "harmony between man and nature" requires the activities of both the whole society and individuals, and through the efforts of society and individuals, it becomes people's inner belief and external behavior. The moral adjustment function of "harmony between man and nature" is realized through the power of public opinion, people's inner beliefs and traditional habits. Public opinion is an external force that influences and regulates people's behavior towards nature, and it is coordinating the relationship between man and nature. It plays an important role in encouraging or restraining people's behavior. When a person's behavior conforms to the moral requirements of "harmony between man and nature" and is conducive to the coordinated development of the relationship between man and nature, public opinion will encourage him to maintain and carry forward this behavior. On the contrary, his behavior will be criticized and condemned by the society and even the whole world, prompting him to correct immoral behaviors, re-recognize and choose behaviors that meet moral requirements, and thus realize the regulatory function. People's inherent moral beliefs formed in the interaction with nature are based on their sincere beliefs and strong sense of responsibility for moral obligations. They are relatively stable moral beliefs forged by profound moral understanding, passionate moral feelings and tenacious moral will. It is the intrinsic motivation for people to choose moral behavior in their interaction with nature, and it is also the yardstick for people to evaluate their own and others' treatment of natural behavior in productive labor and social activities.
The morality of "harmony between man and nature" also has the functions of education and encouragement. Through the education, evaluation and encouragement of the "harmony between man and nature" morality, it can establish the behavior norms and ideal personality model of human interaction with nature, form a social moral fashion of loving nature, protecting the ecological environment and rationally utilizing natural resources, and cultivate people's moral consciousness, behavior and quality in their interaction with nature. It is realized in the process of adjusting people's behavior and attitude towards nature. Its goal is to make people transcend selfish or superficial vision in their communication with nature, judge the value of behavior with the long-term interests of the social collective and all mankind, and make reasonable and noble self-choice.
The educational incentive function of the morality of "harmony between man and nature" lies in that it awakens and mobilizes people's consciousness, enthusiasm and creativity as historical subjects through various ways and means, educates people to know what is good, what is evil, what is harmful and what is beneficial, distinguishes right from wrong, and consciously regulates their behavior according to certain standards of good and evil. Giving full play to the educational incentive function of the morality of "harmony between man and nature" is conducive to promoting goodness.
Third, protecting nature is the moral responsibility of human beings.
Loving nature and protecting the natural environment are the basic codes of conduct that people should abide by when dealing with the relationship with nature.
First, loving nature is the material condition for the survival and development of human society. Everything in nature that is beneficial to human social life, such as mountains and rivers, plants, birds and animals, rivers, air supply, minerals, etc., are important resources to maintain human "life circle". Loving nature is essentially loving human life itself. Loving nature is essentially a love for the development of human civilization.
Second, take care of animals and plants and protect the ecological balance. Only by ensuring the survival and development of other creatures on the earth can human beings ensure their own survival and development. Once the animals and plants on the earth are blindly destroyed, human beings will lose the exchange objects and natural environment necessary to maintain life.
Third, optimize production methods to prevent environmental pollution. In order to coordinate the relationship between man and nature, human beings must overcome the immoral behavior of quick success and instant benefit in production, regardless of the serious harm caused by environmental pollution. We should use all scientific and technological means to reduce and stop environmental pollution.
Fourth, under the guidance of correct values, developing science and technology and rationally utilizing natural resources is a fundamental task in the process of human development. In order to make human society develop continuously, people are required to save natural resources as much as possible in the development of science and technology and productive labor, especially to make rational use of those "non-renewable resources" (such as coal, oil, metals and mineral deposits).
Human society is at the beginning of a higher stage of development. Faced with the conflict between man and nature, people should not go their own way, nor should they be pessimistic and disappointed. The future of mankind depends on their own choices. Morality is the crystallization of human culture and wisdom, and it is the spiritual ladder for people to move towards a more Gao Wenming palace. Morality plays an important role in regulating the relationship between man and nature. The mission of the morality of "harmony between man and nature" is based on its own spirit-