Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines the problem of preserving and actively reproducing human beings as living entities—and, more specifically, their “living principle”—within the contemporary technological world. In this context, humans face radical technological alienation, in which technology “dictates” the conditions of life, threatening the integrity of human existence. The purpose of the study is to develop the concept of human eco-cultural being by analyzing eco-cultural practices as means of preserving the living principle within humans, ensuring their integrity, and harmonizing human relationships with the technogenic environment. The contradiction between the living principle within humans and the logic of the non-living (purely technical) leads to ecological and anthropological crises, as well as an erosion of cultural values. Two groups of eco-cultural practices are identified: nominal (formal, e.g., greenwashing) and authentic (oriented toward the core principles of the eco-humanistic approach). The latter group includes ecotourism, urban forestry, the recreational development of urban spaces, and anthropologically oriented education. The analysis demonstrates that authentic eco-cultural practices contribute to restoring unity and maintaining proportionality, thereby balancing opportunities for the full reproduction and development of each dimension of human existence. They also help overcome technological alienation and affirm the value of the living principle within humans. It is therefore crucial to orient technology not toward replacing the human but toward enhancing it within a coevolutionary framework. The article is intended for philosophers, ecologists, cultural scholars, educators, urbanists, and social practitioners dealing with issues related to the anthropology of technogenic society, eco-humanism, and sustainable development.
Author: Dmitry V. Solomko
Institutions: South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk State University
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225653350