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• Existentialism an the Ecological Crisis

  This segment of The Philosopher's Zone with David Routledge (on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) focuses on the importance of existentialism in modern times. Specifically, how existentialism can help us understand current relationships between the self and others, as well as with nature. Likewise, the podcast’s contributor, Dr Dalia Nassar points out that existentialism implies a sort humanism (as Sartre argued) that connects each individual to all of humanity through their actions. It is the fact that each of our actions can affect one another is why the existentialists place so much emphasis on how we act. Furthermore, the podcast extends this to the ecological crisis by explaining how this radical humanism can inform how we make environmental decisions. The important point here is that we can derive environmental values based on the inherent freedom that humans have, there is a constant need for action. As the interviewer explains in the podcast, the individual determines the moral future of humanity and nature. Thus, each person has a moral obligation to transcend the current situation and make better choices for the environment. Likewise, there is a special attention to art and literature as a mode of connection, to hopefully shape others moral and environmental values. Therefore, existentialism provides a framework (much like religion) for guiding our actions based on a mutual care for the environment. Finally, I should note that the key points of the podcast (concerning the environment) starts at the 18-minute mark, while the latter half provides background knowledge on existentialism.