The Imperative of Responsibility

By Hans Jonas,

Book cover of The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age

Book description

Hans Jonas here rethinks the foundations of ethics in light of the awesome transformations wrought by modern technology: the threat of nuclear war, ecological ravage, genetic engineering, and the like. Though informed by a deep reverence for human life, Jonas's ethics is grounded not in religion but in metaphysics, in…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Imperative of Responsibility as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is more classically within the philosophical canon. The Imperative of Responsibility is probably Jonas’s masterpiece. He wrote this book in 1979. It’s a contemporary classic, in the sense that it’s really foundational, in my view (but not just in my view), for environmental ethics because it’s a book—and this is over 40 years ago now—that really takes seriously, as very few had before, the change that needs to come to philosophy. We need to start taking seriously the change that has come to us as a species as a result of industrialism, as a result of our growing…

From Rupert's list on eco-philosophy.

Want books like The Imperative of Responsibility?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Imperative of Responsibility.

Browse books like The Imperative of Responsibility

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in technology, accountability, and ethics?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about technology, accountability, and ethics.

Technology Explore 119 books about technology
Accountability Explore 15 books about accountability
Ethics Explore 132 books about ethics