Abstract

Ecological catastrophes of natural origin were known to – and even celebrated by – G. Cuvier and J.-B. Lamarck as désastres bienfaisantes. Thanks to the philosophy of Schelling and Hegel, exposing integral natural totalities with inherent laws and values, and in the light of the industrial revolution that was on the rise in their time, it became clear that human endeavour could severly – and irreversibly – threaten the living planet and imply self-destruction of humanity. Hans Jonas in the 20th century expressed this threat explicitly. The article derives the birth of environmental self-consciousness from classical German philosophy, and then shows the justifying relevance of this philosophical thread to the recently adopted, international legislation of ecocide as a crime against the natural habitats and all its inhabitants