The Anthropological Nature of the Environmental Crisis:

Toward a Complementary Interdisciplinary Approach

Abstract

The environmental crisis is anthropological in nature – that is, its causes lie in civilizational transformations, and thus its solutions must be sought in cultural change. Without a shift in cultural and mental paradigms, environmental, technological, or legal solutions alone will prove insufficient. The author argues that only a complementary and interdisciplinary diagnosis of the crisis can lead to the development of an effective framework for response. Such a model must integrate legal, administrative, environmental, technological, and cultural instruments. The article first presents the humanities perspective, moving from a critique of faulted human–nature paradigms toward the concept of integral ecology. It then explores the natural science perspective (Anthropocene, planetary boundaries), followed by the technical dimension (energy transition, circular economy), and the legal dimension (from the principle of sustainable development, through the precautionary principle, to the “polluter pays” principle). The article concludes with the Integral Model for Addressing the Environmental Crisis (IMAEC), which integrates the following components: (1) Diagnosis of the crisis’ roots; (2) Ethical and spiritual dimensions of attitudes toward nature; (3) Scientific data; (4) Sustainable technologies; (5) Legal frameworks; (6) Cultural transformation. The author demonstrates that without an ethic of responsibility and a reconfiguration of civilizational narratives – such as consumerism and the instrumentalization of nature – only the symptoms of the crisis can be mitigated, not its causes. An interdisciplinary synthesis offers a feasible roadmap for public policy, education, and institutional practice. A proper response to the crisis requires the convergence of the above components. Together, these form a complementary and iterative model of addressing the crisis.