# COVID-19 and Climate Change: Re-thinking Human and Non-Human in Western Philosophy

## TL;DR

This paper explores how the pandemic and climate change challenge traditional views of humans and nature through the lens of Descartes and Spinoza.

## Contribution

It offers a novel philosophical reflection on human-non-human relations in the context of global crises.

## Key findings

- The pandemic and climate change reveal interconnected human and non-human vulnerabilities.
- Descartes and Spinoza provide contrasting frameworks for understanding human presence in nature.
- Re-thinking these relations is essential for addressing global ecological challenges.

## Abstract

The pre-conditions and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are inter-connected with those of climate change, prompting reflection on how to re-think the relations between human and non-human on a changing planet. This essay considers that issue with reference to the contrasts between the philosophies of Descartes and Spinoza, who offered radically different approaches to the conceptualization of human presence in Nature.