Exploring Climate Resilience Aspects of Praxis Philosophy: Reflections on Social Dynamics in the Context of Climate Change

Abstract

Praxis philosophy represents the Yugoslav Marxist-Humanist philosophical school that was most prominent in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, but whose ideas might be relevant in the present context. The main ideas of this group centered on the concept of human practice (praxis). Some of the important figures of the group whose work is relevant to this topic are: Rudi Supek, Gajo Petrović, Milan Kangrga etc. We are going to highlight some of their key insights regarding human needs and actions in relation to nature, environment, progress, etc. After that we’ll connect these theoretical insights with concepts like critical practice and theory of change approaches; societal inequalities and justice; transformations, human agency and political imaginaries etc. In this way, we hope to explore the dynamics of the relationship between diverse philosophical approaches of this Yugoslav variant of non-dogmatic, creative Marxism and current (and future) processes of the relationship between man, society and important environmental issues. We consider these philosophical, social and historical inputs to be valuable for the enrichment of the social sciences' and humanities' knowledge in exploring its own role, as well as the possibilities of societal transformation, in the context of the development of a climate-resilient society.