Bridging the divide in urban sustainability: from human exemptionalism to the new ecological paradigm

This paper reviews the main bodies of contemporary urban sustainability theory. From this analysis, two underpinning paradigms of urban sustainability are identified: (1) The ‘Human Exemptionalism Paradigm’ (HEP), which emphasizes the ability of humans to overcome environmental problems—see Urban Sociology, Urban Ecology, Urban Geography, Urban Psychology and Political Economy; and (2) The ‘New Ecological Paradigm’ (NEP), which emphasizes the criticality of ecological limits to human progress—see Urban Metabolism, Energy/Emergy Analysis and Ecological Footprinting. Each of these approaches is critically reviewed, highlighting their main assumptions, theoretical and practical foci. It is argued in the paper that if the related issues of urban sustainability and development are to be progressed, there needs to be: (1) a greater maturation of the NEP approaches, which are ‘relative newcomers’ to the area of urban theory; and (2) greater integration and dialogue between the HEP and NEP approaches to urban sustainability than has hitherto been the case.

Vulnerabilities and risks in population and environment studies

In the study of risks , different sciences use the same category in different ways, each related to its own ontological assumptions. But many of these fields communicate very little with one another. This article seeks to approximate two of these areas of study that have shown similar concerns and that can mutually strengthen one another, namely, geography and demography. Geography was one of the first disciplines to include risk in its environmental dimension and has had broad experience in simultaneously focusing on social and natural dynamics. Demography, on the other hand, faces greater difficulties because only recently has it incorporated the environmental dimension into its scientific scope. Both have brought the concept of vulnerability into their conceptual framework as complementary to that of risk. Geographers understand vulnerability as a more symbiotic form of the relationship between society and nature, whereas demographers give it a strong socioeconomic component. In this regard, the conceptual discussion on risks and vulnerabilities, in its attempt at approximating these two fields, is a way of conceptually advancing and strengthening the different approaches to empirical work, especially in population–environment studies which is the common ground for the dialogue between the two disciplines.

西方机械论自然观兴衰之省察

机械论自然观渊源于古希腊的原子论,肇始于文艺复兴时期,勃兴于近代科学革命中,19世纪后半叶受到挑战,20世纪初渐趋衰微,在西方思想史乃至世界思想史上居于统治地位有年,其成就骄人其缺陋也尖锐。由它所产生的并反过来支持它的主客二分论形上学思维也与它一样命运波舛,成为被指摘的现代生态环境危机的深层思想根源。     

灾害哲学——环境哲学研究的一种新拓展

环境哲学缘起于对当代人类所面临的环境问题的哲学追问。灾害是环境问题的一种极端形态,并在当代社会中蜕变为人类生存环境的一种“常态”,因而有必要予以哲学考察。灾害哲学虽有可能从灾害学或环境哲学中产生,但迄今未戍为现实。而此二者之外的生态理性哲学则探究了世界的原初整体性,创构了生态化综合方法,因而为灾害哲学的探究提供了有益的启迪。不仅如此,生态理性哲学还以灾疫伦理为入口,为灾害哲学的研究作了奠基性的工作：     

胡塞尔现象学及其对当代哲学思维方式的影响

胡塞尔的现象学从纯粹意识出发,坚持“面向事实本身”的基本原则,通过悬置、本质还原、先验还原等一系列“现象学反思”过程,实现了对传统哲学哲学思维方式的根本性颠覆。首先,通过悬置传统形而上学的各种预设,诉诸于直观明证性,打破了理性万能的神话以及对各种自然主义态度的迷信;其次,通过本质还原,诉诸于思维的自由想象力,克服传统的现成性思维和实体性思维,开辟出了一个无限可能的“可能世界”;其三,通过先验还原,最终完成对纯粹意识的深度挖掘,克服传统的二元论倾向,实现了对传统形而上学思维方式的超越与哲学思维的现代化。     

试论劳伦斯小说对生命哲学的探索

劳伦斯的整个文学创作过程,也是他对生命哲学的探索过程。《白孔雀》,揭示了理性与直觉、肉体与精神、自然与文明的对立关系;《儿子与情人》,继续了性爱题材的生命哲学探索;《虹》与《恋爱中的女人》,则集中展示了劳伦斯的以“血的意识”为标志的生命哲学探索;《查特莱夫人的情人》是他探索生命哲学的“天鹅之歌”,倾注他毕生对人类命运的艺术思考,达到了他探索生命哲学的顶峰。     

天然林资源保护工程区可持续发展初探

我国实施天保工程取得了显著的生态效益,但在实施过程中也遇到许多社会和经济问题。本文从阐述天保工程的实施现状入手,探讨了天保工程对林区社会、经济产生的不利影响,包括政府财政资金投入不足、社会保障体系尚未健全、产业结构调整缓慢与经营管理不善4个方面,最后提出了促进天保工程区经济社会可持续发展的几点建议。     

制度文明的进化与平等的历程

国家文明的重要标志是制度文明,制度文明的道德立法原理乃是平等。人类追求平等的历程,表征为不断创建新的制度文明的历程;反之,人类创建制度文明的历程,同样是不懈探索平等生存发展的历程。平等的观念、思想来源于自然,萌生于人类前文明时期;国家诞生之后,这种自然平等观念、思想演变为等级式平等的制度立法原理;近代革命以来,人类中心主义的人人平等思想,成为现代人类制度的道德立法原理。人本中心论的人人平等的制度文明,从根本上忽视了自然权利、万物生命权利的平等这一存在事实,把人类引上片面征服和掠夺的道路,导致了人与自然之生态链的断裂。当代制度文明应该建立在物权与人权普遍平等的基础上。物权和人权普遍平等,构成了当代人类制度文明创建的道德立法原理。     

自然的城邦和城邦的自然——亚里士多德政治观中的张力分析

亚里士多德通过目的论路径和自然主义的演进方式塑造了具有内在紧张关系的政治观,这种紧张关系主要表现为:目的论路径展示了城邦超越、自足、理想的自然,而自然主义方式蕴涵着城邦现实性、多样化和变动性特征。好人和好公民之间的不一致是亚氏政治观紧张关系的深层体现,哲学沉思是好人(哲学家)最优良的生活方式,而城邦政治是好公民获得幸福生活的根本保障。     

澳门近十年人口自然增长概况

澳门是一个面积不到 2 4平方公里的地方 ,其人口在过去十年增加了近三成。人口的增加主要来源于移民 ,特别是来自中国内地的移民 ,他们同时亦对澳门人口的自然增长带来很大的影响 ,原因是来自中国内地的移民有较高的生育率。本文简单地介绍了这一现象 ,以及澳门人口自然增长的其他情况。