Illustration by DALL·E (+Animé)

The Old Testament: Creation

For almost two millennia the dominant view of humankind in the West was grounded in the biblical account: Adam and Eve being made in the likeness of God, while nature was defined by God as being put specifically at the service of humankind.

The Bible states: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis I 26-28).

Man had been assigned a privileged status by God while a divine quality, the spirit, permeates Man in contrast to all other creatures. One outcome of the assignment of dominion over nature was predictable when nature was defined as not to be honoured by humans but in subservience to them: that they might devastate it in an exploitative manner.

The biblical account was expressing a ruthlessly anthropocentric view, with humankind positioned above the rest of nature. This account remained unchallenged for fifteen centuries but it came under increasing attack, scrutiny and challenge, over the last five centuries.

Illustration by DALL·E (+US comics)