Ontopoiesis of life as eco-phenomenology

Carmen Cozma

pp. 31-40

in: William S. Smith, Jadwiga Smith, Daniela Verducci (eds), Eco-Phenomenology, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

Starting from Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka's thesis of the ecological dimension of human being, and considering man's intimate relationship with the Earth and the cosmos, this article emphasizes some fundamental articulations of phenomenology of life in its potential to deal with the present ecological crisis and at the same time to overcome it. The original outstanding vision of the Ontopoiesis of Life set forth by Tymieniecka presents a real challenge to reach a better understanding of our own opportunities and responsibility to wisely shape a proper manner of living. Thus, we stress and unfold the significance of the pivotal ideas of Tymieniecka's philosophy, such as: the "self-individualization of life," the centrality of the creative act of a human being, and the grounding of the human condition within the totality of life's spread. These are major lines to be assumed and followed by each of us in the endeavor to think about and to serve our situation in the "dynamic web of life stretching between cosmic relevancies and human creative invention," according to the initiator of the phenomenology of life.

Cited authors

Tymieniecka Anna-Teresa