Judeo-Christian Worldview
According to White and Kaufmann, the worldview created by Judeo-Christian theology presents man as separate from nature because of his superiority through being made in God’s image, his personal and moral character, and his development above nature to manipulate natural laws and create a separate historical society and culture.
In White’s article it details the creation story passed from Judaism to Christianity, notably that God created man to rule over all of nature, and although man is made from clay he is made in God’s image which sets him apart from the rest of nature. This belief clearly creates a divide between man and nature, and facilitates an attitude of superiority towards the rest of creation. Through science and technology, man
aspires to understand how nature functions and by this aspire to understand the mind of God. Kaufmann, too, speaks of man as the epitome of creation, pointing out that he is the creature in whom God himself becomes incarnate.
Man is also separated from nature by his ability to act, decide and order behavior. Kaufman outlines that if the fundamental order of the world is moral and personal and political, then nature is simply the framework for God and human actions, the matter with which he fulfills his purpose. That is not to say that other creatures possess traits that can be held as moral and personal examples for man, for man can adjust his character, as other creatures cannot. So again, although man is made from nature, he is set apart above nature by his moral and personal character.
Kaufmann’s article discusses the fact that while man falls within nature’s order, he also can transcend nature to understand and control it. So at the same time, he comes from nature but is also able to operate on its processes in order to meet his own needs, in such a way that he creates a culture that is above nature and gives him power over it. And as Kaufmann asserts, thus man is not only natural, but is also a cultural and historical being that can only be understood in the context of a historical nature that is continuous with the evolution and history of man.
In January, Leopold has the attitude that he is very much an observer that is apart from the happenings of the nature around him, and that each of the other creatures has awareness in its interaction with the other creatures and with the changing season.
In White’s article it details the creation story passed from Judaism to Christianity, notably that God created man to rule over all of nature, and although man is made from clay he is made in God’s image which sets him apart from the rest of nature. This belief clearly creates a divide between man and nature, and facilitates an attitude of superiority towards the rest of creation. Through science and technology, man
aspires to understand how nature functions and by this aspire to understand the mind of God. Kaufmann, too, speaks of man as the epitome of creation, pointing out that he is the creature in whom God himself becomes incarnate.
Man is also separated from nature by his ability to act, decide and order behavior. Kaufman outlines that if the fundamental order of the world is moral and personal and political, then nature is simply the framework for God and human actions, the matter with which he fulfills his purpose. That is not to say that other creatures possess traits that can be held as moral and personal examples for man, for man can adjust his character, as other creatures cannot. So again, although man is made from nature, he is set apart above nature by his moral and personal character.
Kaufmann’s article discusses the fact that while man falls within nature’s order, he also can transcend nature to understand and control it. So at the same time, he comes from nature but is also able to operate on its processes in order to meet his own needs, in such a way that he creates a culture that is above nature and gives him power over it. And as Kaufmann asserts, thus man is not only natural, but is also a cultural and historical being that can only be understood in the context of a historical nature that is continuous with the evolution and history of man.
In January, Leopold has the attitude that he is very much an observer that is apart from the happenings of the nature around him, and that each of the other creatures has awareness in its interaction with the other creatures and with the changing season.