Abstract

In his seminal work The New Story Thomas Berry describes the ecological crisis in terms of a value crisis, presenting the contemporary physical degradation as a consequence of a broader problem that affects the inner spiritual identity of a society – and therefore its morality, its politics, and its economy – and, only subsequently, the physical realm. Moving from this assumption, the paper presents Berry’s approach to the environmental problem as a methodological tool for developing a new anthropology, one which understands humans first and foremost as narrative and historical beings. For this reason, Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms and definition of humans as “symbolic beings” are invoked in order to deepen Berry’s understanding of human nature. At the same time, Berry’s strategy can be understood as a fruitful argument for addressing the cultural crisis that is affecting Western society, avoiding catastrophic environmentalism and its anti-humanistic drift.