Final answer:
Lynn White critically asserts that Judeo-Christian tradition's anthropocentric view contributes to environmental degradation by placing humans above nature and seeing it only as an instrumental resource.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lynn White's Critique of the Judeo-Christian Tradition
Lyun White's critique of the Judeo-Christian tradition revolves primarily around the anthropocentric perspective prevalent in Western thinking. This view positions humans above the natural world and sees nature as having purely instrumental value for human use. In his influential essay, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," White attributes the environmental crisis to the Judeo-Christian mindset that upholds the superiority of humans over the nonhuman world, propagated by the notion that nature exists for human benefit. This framework, White argues, provides a moral justification for exploiting and harming the environment without ethical repercussions. The Christian doctrine and its influence on Western thought have shaped attitudes that are indifferent to the degradation of nature, which has contributed to the ecological challenges we face today. White's critique encourages a reevaluation of these traditional values to foster a more responsible and sustaining relationship with the environment.