ABSTRACTS

Ulrich Brand　et al　trans　Liu Xiangtan

From Planetary to Societal Boundaries： An Argument for Collectively Defined Self -Limitation

The planetary boundaries concept has profoundly changed the vocabulary and representation of global environmental issues. We bring a critical social science perspective to this framework through the notion of societal boundaries and aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of the social nature of thresholds. We start by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of planetary boundaries from a social science perspective. We then focus on capitalist societies as a heuristic for discussing the expansionary dynamics， power relations， and lock-ins of modern societies that impel highly unsustainable societal relations with nature. While formulating societal boundaries implies a controversial process-based on normative judgments， ethical concerns， and socio-political struggles-it has the potential to offer guidelines for a just， social-ecological transformation. Collective autonomy and the politics of self -limitation are key elements of societal boundaries and are linked to important proposals and pluriverse experiences to integrate well-being and boundaries. The role of the state and propositions for radical alternative approaches to well-being have particular importance. We conclude with reflections on social freedom， defined as the right not to live at others expense. Toward the aim of defining boundaries through transdisciplinary and democratic processes， we seek to open a dialogue on these issues.

Minimalonomics： A Novel Economic Model to Address Environmental Sustainability and Earths Carrying Capacity⊙Atanu Sarkar，trans.， Gao Ruoyun

Excessive consumption is the leading factor in the current global economic， social， and ecological crisis. The existing global environmental governance system has failed to effectively address the current economic development model based on overconsumption. The current global development model not only lacks effective intervention in excessive consumption behavior， but also fails to construct an economic strategy based on the principle of social equity in the era of ecological crisis.  Based on a reflective literature review of three disciplinary concepts of behavioral economics， the circular economy， and ecological economics， the paper elaborates on a new economic analysis model that differs from the currently popular neoclassical economics in the western world. The paper proposes a theoretical concept of minimalonomics that is possible to effectively integrate the main principles of ecological economics and behavioral economics in the current field of economics and promote collective actions of producers， consumers， governments， and other social entities in response to ecological crisis based on ecological priorities. Contrary to the standard economic approach in the West， minimalonomics restores the value of localization and advocates for the consideration of social and cultural factors in areas such as consumption and environmental protection. Minimalonomics provides reference for building a new environmental governance system to cope with the global ecological crisis.

The “Lifespan” of Green Parties in Western Europe： Evaluation and Prospect

⊙Ferdinand Müller-Rommel， trans.， Gao Ze

Green parties in Western Europe have been developing into political forces that should not be ignored， but green parties representations significantly differ from each other in terms of election participation， parliamentary strength and government performance. The empirical analysis of the political performances of Green parties in 17 Western European countries conducted through the party lifespan approach shows that Green parties are dynamic organizations subject to different lifespans. In order to extend their political influences， Green parties in their lifespan must pass three thresholds， which are electoral campaigning， parliamentary representation， and government participation. The historical development process of Green parties can be described by modality， dispersion and skewness of the lifespan-curves （Ls-curves）. According to the party lifespan pattern， Green parties can be categorized into three different types， which are strong， moderate and weak Green party performers. It can be foreseen that Green parties in Belgium， Finland， Germany， Ireland， Luxembourg and Sweden will remain major political players， and those in Austria， France， Denmark， Switzerland and Norway will grow upwards， whereas those in Greece， Portugal， Spain and Italy are likely to remain politically unimportant.

On Xi Jinpings Ecological Civilization Thought from the Perspective of Community

⊙Wang Pengwei & He Lanying

Xi Jinpings concept of community， which includes the community of life and the community of shared future for mankind， is of great significance in Xi Jinpings ecological civilization thought. The concept of the community of life establishes the solid ontological and epistemological foundation for Xi Jinpings ecological civilization thought， which is thus fundamentally a comprehensive environmental theory. It also lays the theoretical basis for Xi Jinpings ecological civilization perspective， leading to a shift in research and practice of ecological civilization to China. Xi Jinpings concept of community shared future for mankind reveals the ways and nature of the existence of human community， making significant contributions to promoting the thorough reconciliation between human and nature and between humans themselves， and to the peaceful development and win-win cooperation of all humanity. Therefore， it makes an original development of scientific socialism. The concept of community primarily affirming the scientific nature of the proposal that “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”， and ensuring that Xi Jinpings ecological civilization thought is of great practical strength and a broad theoretical vision.

Environmental Field Mutation and Reconstruction in the Post-Pandemic Era⊙Tang Daixing

Since humans emerged from the abyss of nature， they have been accompanied by pandemics. However， from a historical perspective， pandemics have been regional， sporadic， and discontinuous. Diseases caused by biological or microbial viruses have rapidly changed this traditional understanding since the 21st century. The new microbial virus is spreading globally across territories and regions and its iterative mutation and localization have not been affected by factors such as climate， geography， season， culture， folklore， lifestyle， living habits， etc. Ultimately， due to the damage to the Earths environment and the harm to Earths life through mankinds unlimited development since modern times， the accumulated force has broken through the ecological capacity limit， causing a sudden change in the environmental field， and breaking the fragile ecological balance among humans， animals， and microbes. The new virus field has been quietly constructed in humans hasty and blind response， and the new virus strain has accelerated mutation and localization to form a continuously expanding pandemic marginal effect trap. To escape from the trap， humans must learn to revere nature， regain the once abandoned common sense of limited existence， restore the guiding function of natural laws， stop the unrestrained existence development model guided by conquest and plunder， accumulate new repairing energy in a humble way of life， gradually cultivate a renewable mutation soil， and rebuild the ecology-oriented environmental field embracing both natural adaptation and cultural adaptation from the marginal effect of overall rebirth. Only in this way can humanity truly walk out of the virus world and recreate a new civilization.

The Way of Generating and Constructing Eco-Reason Philosophy Based on the Reflection of Post-World Risk Society： An Interview with Professor Tang Daixing⊙Huang Ge

The question of existence in philosophy is the question of the noumenon of human existence， and its essence is the question of the world change of existence， which provides the basis of human nature that “varies with invariability” for the existence of human being. If the question of existence goes awry or is forgotten， philosophy must also disappear in human society. In this way， human beings will be addicted to the development of the material world without reflection and criticism， and thus fall into the crisis of survival. In the face of this complex dilemma， Professor Tang Daixing has been working on it for decades. One of the important points of the philosophical system he has created and established is to develop around the desertification of cultural existence and thought in todays world， and strive to truly solve this crisis. Therefore， he refines and summarizes his philosophy as “eco-reason philosophy”. In his opinion， the contemporary philosophy is on the road of empirical rationality to conceptual rationality and then to scientific rationality， and ultimately it must reach the destination of ecological rationality. Moreover， this path must be practical， ethical and good. In this interview， we will specifically focus on the theme of Professor Tang Daixings eco-reason philosophy so as to have a deeper understanding of his reflections on the contemporary world and a more comprehensive grasp of several dimensions of his theme. On this basis， we can further explore the methodological elements of his solution to the fundamental predicament and crisis of the current era. Of course， we also hope that with the help of this interview， more people can participate in rethinking and questioning the current situation of human beings. After all， philosophy is not only a summary of the existing positions and viewpoints of human beings， but also a contemporary creation to explore why human beings survive.

Tracing the Modern Origin of Humanistic Ecological Aesthetics： On the Connotation of Ecological Thinking in Kants “Dialectics of Nature”⊙Zeng Yongcheng

Kants “dialectics of nature”， based on the principle of the relationship between parts and wholes in organic systems as the a priori basis for natural phenomena， contains profound ecological thinking and resonates with the spirit of human ecological aesthetics rooted in Marxs theory of “nature as a generator of humans”. It can be said that Kants “dialectics of nature” serves as the intellectual source of the latter. Their ecological thinking， derived from a common foundation of teleology in nature， fundamentally determines the ecological nature of beauty and aesthetics. Moreover， they break away from the prevailing notion that equates aesthetics with aesthetics studies and return to the holistic framework of Kantian aesthetics ontology of the genesis of beauty. In Kants discourse on the aesthetic sense of music， we can also see a connection with the rhythmic resonance theory of human ecological aesthetics.

Changes in Cognition of Concepts and Classification of Beneficial and Harmful Animals Recorded in Modern Local Chronicles⊙Li Ronghua

The classification of wildlife into beneficial and harmful animals is a categorizing method used in the compilation of the section of animal resources in modern local chronicles. This method， practical and utilitarian， is based on the benefits and harms of wildlife to humans and combines the concept of harmful animals formed in ancient societies with the concepts of pests， beneficial insects， beneficial birds， and beneficial animals introduced in modern times. In the process of constructing categories of beneficial and harmful animals in modern local chronicles， there are disputes about the beneficial and harmful attributes of animals such as hedgehogs， moles and sparrows. However， the concept of protecting beneficial animals and exterminating harmful animals demonstrated therein is significantly different from that of protecting and hunting wildlife in ancient societies， reflecting the cognition of wildlife in modern society. Although the concept of protecting beneficial animals in modern times has not been put into practice， it still has important value of intellectual history.

Reflection on the Posthuman Scenarios and Intersubjectivity of Ecological Science Fiction： A Case Study of Jiang Bos “Machine Trilogy” and “Chaos Trilogy”⊙Zhu Pengjie & Shao Zhichen

With the changes in the Earths ecological environment and the development of science and technology， human ways of existence have also gradually changed. Contemporary Chinese science fiction pays attention to this trend and combines cutting-edge topics such as ecology， the body， media， technology， and artificial intelligence to engage in reasonable imagination and detailed descriptions of human development possibilities. Among them， Jiang Bos novels particularly focus on the future development path of “posthumanity” and explore future human forms of existence such as cyborgs， virtual survival， and quantum life， etc.， providing conceptual coordinates for contemplating the social landscape of “posthumanity”. Whether they are primitive humans， robotic beings， or embodied intelligences， they all belong to a part of the ecological system in the future and serve as nodes in the interwoven web of the world. Therefore， the purpose of Jiang Bos science fiction in depicting “posthumanity” is to view different species from an interactive and interconnected perspective and strive for coexistence.

On the Subject Narrative of The Windup Girl from the Perspective of Material Ecocriticism

⊙Zhang Yuan & Jiang Yuqin

Material ecocriticism， based on postmodernism and new materialism， advocates for the dissolution of anthropocentrism， explores the agency of non-human matter， and considers material agency to be expressed through narrative capacity. To understand this narrative capacity， it is necessary to incorporate human perspectives into the developmental significance of non-human realities. In the novel The Windup Girl by American science fiction writer Paolo Bacigalupi， the artificial human “Emiko” forms a subject narrative through the interconnection of material and meaning. Emiko narrates humanitys perceptions of it， its self-awareness， and its views on human culture， environment， and other living beings. These viewpoints converge to form the storyline of its own growth， ultimately leading to a mode of relationship between material and meaning. The relationship between Emikos bodily actions and meaning undergoes a process of instrumental unity， reconstruction， and merging into unity. Through the reconstruction of the relationship between the body and the meaning of actions， it gradually restores its self-positioning and subject dignity. The self-narrative of artificial life both deconstructs traditional human selfhood and guides humans to reflect upon themselves through diverse roles of the self， thus depicting a scenario of coexistence among multiple species in both difference and unity. The reality portrayed in science fiction literature exists both within and beyond the text. Its materiality manifested in the dialogue between cutting-edge scientific theories and rich experimental narrative modes. It also alters peoples conceptions of nature and therefore becomes one of the bridges connecting literature， ecology， and technology.

Achieving the Deep Transformation of Ecological Civilization： An Overview of the 16th Claremont International Forum on Ecological Civilization and the 5th International Youth Forum on Ecological Civilization⊙Wang Guanwen， Hou Kai ＆ Zhang Lingxiao

The 16th Claremont International Forum on Ecological Civilization and the 5th International Youth Forum on Ecological Civilization were successfully held online from May 26th to 28th， 2023. The forum attracted over 300 experts on ecological civilization from more than ten countries， including China， the United States， Hungary， the United Kingdom， Slovenia， Germany， Italy， Russia， South Korea， Australia， Singapore， and Costa Rica. John B. Cobb Jr.， a 98-year-old member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences， participated in the entire forum and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. The forum focused on the deep transformation of ecological civilization， and shared and exchanged ideas extensively around the three themes， namely “Ecological Civilization and the Deep Transformation of the Self”， “Ecological Civilization and the Deep Transformation of Society”， and “Ecological Civilization and the Deep Transformation of Youth”. It presented a profound and constructive feast of ecological civilization ideas to the world， deepening peoples understanding and recognition of this topic， and painting a grand blueprint for the deep transformation of global ecological civilization. The forum received high attention from the media and society and generated positive feedback.

責任编辑：王俊暐