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Hans Jonas

1979

START WITH THE PUZZLE

When effects are global, long-term, and irreversible, is an ethics designed for nearby contemporaries sufficient?

Evidence-backed moments
2
Timeline events
1
Verified places
0

This is a guided intellectual story assembled from verified claims, works, and events in which this thinker actually appears. It avoids filling gaps with a generic encyclopedia biography.

Why this thinker is worth following

Story 1What do we owe future people and the more-than-human world?

Jonas — Greater power of action expands responsibility for the future

The question that opens it

When effects are global, long-term, and irreversible, is an ethics designed for nearby contemporaries sufficient?

Follow the argument, not just the name
  1. 1

    Jonas argues that modern technology changes the scale and temporal reach of action, making nature and the continued existence of humanity objects of ethical responsibility.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophy of Technology

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: §3.3 Ethical and Political Critiques of Technology; Jonas and responsibility

      Open source
  2. 2

    His imperative requires present technological action to remain compatible with continued genuine human life and gives prevention special weight under catastrophic uncertainty.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophy of Technology

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: §3.3, The Imperative of Responsibility and future-oriented ethics

      Open source
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Decisive moments in time

  1. 1979

    The Imperative of Responsibility extends technological ethics to future people and planetary conditions.

    PerspectiveOpen in question

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