Rather, it has become a revealing sign of a deeper dysfunction in humanity’s conception of existence, and in the way that human beings have redefined their relationship with the Creator and the world around them. The manner, in which nature is perceived, is a direct extension of the doctrinal and epistemological framework that determines humanity’s place, the limits of his action, and the meaning of his presence in the universe. Modern intellectual trend, through its gradual separation of religion from the natural world, has contributed to reducing the environment to a purely technical issue, managed by the tools of science and economics and detached from the question of purpose. Through this separation, nature has been stripped of its ethical dimension, and the transcendent moral question has been marginalized in favor of a logic of management and control, rather than one of trust [al amanah] and responsibility. From this perspective, the environmental problem is approached as a crisis in doctrinal conception before it is a crisis of resources or policies. Rethinking the human nature relationship thus ultimately entails a critical reexamination of the epistemological and theological foundations that have governed our understanding of the world and paved the way for a mode of relationship severed from purpose.
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