Lynn White's Argument Analysis

All species of the planet change their environment in order to survive and thrive. Humans are no exception and since the use of the first stone tools about 3 million years ago, humans have been refashioning the Earth to fit their needs (Harmand et al. 2015). However, unintended consequences such as increasing CO2 levels, changes in the nitrogen cycle, and rapid extinction rates/ biodiversity loss arose from human alterations of the Earth (Vitousek 1994). These consequences compounded over the years and now the planet faces an ecological crisis, which, according to historian Lynn White Jr., has theological roots. In his article, White indicates Christianity as the root cause of the ecological crisis because it negatively transformed the relationship between humans and nature. …show more content…
White correctly links the disconnect between humans and the natural world to the interrelated factors of Scripture, elimination of pagan animism, and the increasing technological advances coupled with the merger of science and technology. However, White's argument is fragmentary because he fails to address key points such as the misinterpretation of Scripture and other factors such as the idea of cornucopianism and a grow world population. In White's article, he writes that "human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny-that is, by religion" (1205). With this statement, he hints at the culpability of Christianity in the mistreatment of the environment and cites Scripture as a cause for this. The story of Creation, as White writes, teaches that "God planned [life and nature] explicitly for man's benefit and rule [and] no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve man's purposes" (White Jr. 1205). This claim finds support in the Genesis 2 because God creates man "to till the ground" and creates other resources