이 논문은 화이트헤드의 유기체 철학의 관점에서 생태와 환경에 관해 고찰해 보려는 시도이다. 그의 유기체 개념이 생물학에서 말하는 유기체와는 다르듯, 화이트헤드의 유기체 철학에서 말하는 환경은 생태-환경윤리에서 말하는 환경과는 차이가 있다. 여기서 유기체는 환경의 영향을 받기도 하고 환경에 영향을 끼치기도 한다는 의미에서 현실적 존재자와 같은 의미로 사용된다. 그러므로 여기서 말하는 환경도 또한 주체에 대하여 상대적인 대상을 의미하는 전통적인 의미에서의 환경만을 의미하는 것은 아니다. 화이트헤드에게 있어 환경은 단순한 관념이 아니고 유기체 속에 파고들어 또 다른 유기체를 형성하는 것, 즉 주체인 유기체를 둘러싸고 있는 모든 것이다. 논자는 이 논문에서 과정의 원리와 수정된 주관주의의 원리를 통해 인간중심적 사고에 의한 환경파괴의 정당화를 비판하려 했다. 화이트헤드는 인간이 환경의 일부이며 환경과의 상호작용을 통해 살아가는 존재라고 말한다. 유기체 철학의 입장에서 본다면 인간만이 이 우주의 주인이라고 단언할 수 없다. 왜냐하면 인간이라는 유기체를 여건으로 하고 있는 다른 유기체의 입장에서 본다면 인간 역시도 하나의 환경일 뿐이기 때문이다. 그러므로 인간이 보다 행복하고자 한다면, 인간의 입장에 서서 자연을 마음껏 이용하고 훼손하는 것이 아닌 자연과 더불어 살아가는 방법을 선택해야만 한다.

The purpose of this paper is to review ecology and environment with respect to the Philosophy of Organism of Whitehead. Whitehead's Organism differs from that of biology, and his environment also differs from that of ecology and environment ethics. Organism has the same meaning with the real existence in respect that organism has influence on and is under the influence of environment. Environment does not mean typically to represent relative objects against subjects. In Whitehead's philosophy, environment is not a simple concept, but everything surrounding organism, that is, environment is entering into organism and forming other organism in the whole organism. The author is trying to comment on justification of environment destruction done for a human being's convenience through the principle of process and the reformed subjectivist principle. In Whitehead's philosophy, a human being is a part of environment and correlative with environment. A human being is not the master of the universe. When a human being is compared with other organism, a human being is just a part of environment. Therefore, if a human tries to be happy, a human has to choose not the way to destruct and to make use of nature, but the way to live along with nature.

The purpose of this paper is to review ecology and environment with respect to the Philosophy of Organism of Whitehead. Whitehead's Organism differs from that of biology, and his environment also differs from that of ecology and environment ethics. Organism has the same meaning with the real existence in respect that organism has influence on and is under the influence of environment. Environment does not mean typically to represent relative objects against subjects. In Whitehead's philosophy, environment is not a simple concept, but everything surrounding organism, that is, environment is entering into organism and forming other organism in the whole organism. The author is trying to comment on justification of environment destruction done for a human being's convenience through the principle of process and the reformed subjectivist principle. In Whitehead's philosophy, a human being is a part of environment and correlative with environment. A human being is not the master of the universe. When a human being is compared with other organism, a human being is just a part of environment. Therefore, if a human tries to be happy, a human has to choose not the way to destruct and to make use of nature, but the way to live along with nature.

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Whitehead, philosophy of organism, environment, principle of process, reformed subjectivist principle