Final answer:
Traditional secular approaches to setting norms for human life have been criticized for prioritizing human comfort and development over environmental sustainability, lacking foresight, and being too anthropocentric. These norms often stem from historical views and may not align with contemporary ethical considerations or environmental preservation efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Traditional secular attempts to set norms for human life have been criticized for various reasons, not least because they often disregard environmental sustainability and ethical considerations concerning the non-human world. Such norms have typically prioritized human life and comfort over ecological balance, as exemplified by the frowned-upon practice of keeping a house excessively warm in winter. Critiques suggest that traditional secular methodologies hold an anthropocentric view that sees industrial development and economic growth as paramount, compromising environmental integrity in favor of human enterprise.
Moreover, the secular approach is challenged for lacking foresight and sustainability, as individual desires and short-term gains conflict with the need for long-term ecological preservation. These traditions are often informed by historical views that may not adequately address contemporary ethical concerns, such as environmentalism or gender equality. The entrenched systems, whether they stem from political secularism, feminism, or social conservatism, sometimes fail to evolve quickly enough to address the dynamic challenges posed by rapid technological and social changes.
Lastly, the controversial ideas from figures like Francis Bacon that linked knowledge and power have led to an exploitative view of nature, treating it as a resource to be dominated rather than a complex system to be respectfully integrated with. Traditional norms often lack a guiding precedent for living sustainably and technologically advanced on the planet's renewable resources, questioning the compatibility of human nature with such disciplined approaches.