Should We Believe in Global Warming? Cover Image

Czy w globalne ocieplenie należy wierzyć?
Should We Believe in Global Warming?

An Essay on Late Millenarianism

Author(s): Roman Chymkowski
Subject(s): Philosophy, Social Sciences, Metaphysics, Sociology, Policy, planning, forecast and speculation, Political Ecology
Published by: Wydział Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Al Gore; global warming; ecology; apocalypse; politics of faith; religion; eschatology; crisis

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses books and speeches by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gore consistently warns of an impending ecological disaster whose cause is a robber economy which does not take into account the ecological consequences. In particular, global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which are the basic energy source of the modern economy, is a threat to life on Earth. In Gore’s opinion, the ecological crisis accompanies a spiritual one, and both of these crises stem from the philosophy of the Enlightenment, which is responsible for alienating civilisation from its natural environment (Löwith, Taubes). Gore’s warnings of ecological apocalypse form a manifesto of the economic, political, and moral revolution that is needed. The fight against the effects of global warming presupposes fundamental changes in the way of life of every human being, as well as a moral renewal based on reinterpreted religious traditions, especially Christian ones. From this point of view, Gore’s project can be described in terms of the politics of faith (Oakeshott).

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 22
  • Page Range: 271-289
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Polish