365 Iz virni znans tv eni članek/ Article (1.01) Bog oslo vni v es tnik/Theologic al Quart erly 82 (2022) 2, 365—375 Besedilo pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:02/2022; spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:03/2022 UDK/UDC: 2-175.2:502/504 DOI: 10.34291/B V2022/02/K o v acs © 2022 Kovács, CC BY 4.0 Gusztáv Kovács After the Catastrophe: What Can We Learn from Fictional Apocalyptic Scenarios? Po katastrofi: kaj se lahko naučimo iz domišljijskih apokaliptičnih scenarijev? Abstract: Narr a tiv es oft en t ak e the f orm of a though t e xperimen t, trig g er in tuitiv e r esponses, and aim a t the mor al c on v er sion of the audience. The curr en t ar - ticl e i n tr o d u ces tw o s t o ri es c on cern i n g th e en vi r on men t al cri si s, Ri ch ar d R ou t - le y ’ s Last Man Thought Experiment fr om 1973, and the sa tiric al film Don’t Look Up fr om 2021. Although they belong t o dif f er en t g enr es, both function as though t e xperimen ts designed t o highligh t issues of ec ologic al c oncern. The article pr o vides an analy sis of the c on t e x t and ar gumen t a tion of the tw o imag- inar y scenarios and of the w a y the y motiv a t e r esponsible action. The y both off er an adequa t e but diff ering criticism of their c on t empor ar y socie ties and migh t help t o o v er c ome the triviality of the t alk about an impending en vir on - men t al c a t as tr ophe. Keywords : en vir onmen t al crisis, though t e xperimen t, apoc alyp tic scenarios, Last Man, Don’t Look Up, Richar d R outle y Povzetek: Pripo v edi se pog os t o poja vljajo v obliki miselnih ek sperimen t o v , spr o- ž ajo in tuitivne odziv e in t e žijo k mor alni spr eobrnitvi gledalce v . Prispe v ek obr a v - na v a dv e z g odb i na t emo ok olj sk e kriz e: Miselni eksperiment poslednjega člo- veka Ric har da R outle y a iz le t a 1 9 7 3 in sa tir ič ni film Ne glejte gor iz le t a 2 0 2 1 . Čepr a v s t a r azličnih z vr s ti, obe z g odbi deluje t a k ot miselni ek sperimen t z a po - udarjanje ek ološk e občutljiv os ti. Prispe v ek ponuja analiz o k on t ek s t a in ar gu- men t acije obeh domišljijskih scenarije v t er načina, k ak o motivir a t a odziv z od - g o v ornimi dejanji. Oba scenarija ponuja t a us tr e zno in hkr a ti medsebojno r az- l i čno kri tik o sodobne družbe – i n l ahk o pri pomor e t a k pr eseg anju tri vi al nos ti, k o se g o v ori o gr o z eči ok oljski k a t as tr ofi. Ključne besede : ok oljsk a kriz a, miselni ek sperimen t, apok alip tični scenariji, Poslednji človek, Ne glejte gor, Richar d R outle y 366 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 2 In 2022, it is e xtr emely difficult t o t alk about the impending en vir onmen t al c a- t as tr ophe endang eri ng the earth and us, human bei ngs. The t alk about this r eal thr ea t oft en see ms t o be trivial in both r eligious and secular disc our se. (Opa trn y 2017, 34‒41) W e ha v e bec ome accus t omed t o the s t a t e of being c ons t an tly a t risk, similar t o the per sis t ence of C O VID-19 in our e v er y da y liv es. One r eason f or this appar en t triviality migh t be our c on tinuous and in t ense oc - cupa tion with the ques tion in the las t dec ades in popular and ac ademic disc our se. Mos t major ne w s sit es publish s t ories and articles on en vir onmen t al issues on a daily basis. Neit her individuals nor c ommunities ar e able t o pr o vide a solution t o the c ons t an t f e e ling of be ing e ndang e r e d sinc e the e n v ir onm e n t al issue is a g lob- al pr oblem r equiring global solutions. The helplessness r esulting fr om ho w f ar off true, e ff ectiv e and c ompr ehensiv e solutions ar e, migh t be r esponsible f or this sense of triviality . Another r eason is the need of ac ademics t o w ork with c ompr ehensiv e s t a t e - men ts of f acts c oncerning the clima t e crisis and its e ff ects on human beings. Ma t eja P e v ec R o zman’ s descrip tion is a g ood e x ample of this c ompr ehensiv eness: »Humanity has become the master of nature, but nature and our environment are increasingly vulnerable and endangered. /…/ With his consumer way of life, man contributes significantly to unfavourable climate change. /…/ We live in a paradoxical situation where man has become a victim and a slave to his progress. The question arises as to whether we prepare for climat e change and what we are wil ling to do to survive and preserve planet Earth for future generations.« (2021, 836) Cert ainly , her article pr o vides further elabor a tion on this s t a t e of a ff air s, but this short quot a tion s till poin ts t o the c or e of the clima t e crisis and the r esponsi - bility the cur r e n t situa tion pose s t o us. The w or ds ‚ sur v iv e ‘ and ‚ pr e se r v e ‘ sho w clearly wha t is a t s t ak e. Ther e is another ques tion c oncerning all t e x ts about the c lim a t e c r isis, na m e ly , w he t he r t he y a r e a ble t o induc e m or a l c on v e r sion b y m ak - ing e thic ally import an t v alues visible and actua ting r esponsible actions. The curr en t article in tr oduces tw o s t ories – mor e pr ecisely though t e xperimen ts –, which w er e cr ea t ed f or the purposes men tioned abo v e: making v alues visible and actua ting r esponsible actions. The fir s t w as f ormula t ed b y Richar d R outle y (S yl v an) an d bec ame part of the en vi r onmen t al c anon as the Last Man Thought Experiment. It is a char act eris tic though t e xperimen t fr om the 1970s, while the other on e is a c on t empor ar y though t e xperimen t c oined in the f orm of a mo vie, the sa tiric al film Don’t Look Up fr om 2021. Although the y both belong t o diff er en t g enr es, I will tr ea t them as though t e xperimen ts designed t o highligh t issues of ecological concern. 1 The ques tion t o be ans w er ed is: wha t is the na tur e of v alues tha t the tw o though t e xperimen ts illumina t e, and wha t is their c apacity t o actu- 1 B y e thi c al though t e xperi men t I under s t and »(1) i magi nar y scenari os (2) r e f erri ng t o sel ect ed mor al l y r ele v an t aspects of r eality and (3) aiming a t t es ting mor al belie f s, theses or theories (4) b y activ a ting the mor al in tuitions of the audience« (K o v ács 2021, 54). 367 Gusztáv Kovács - After the Catastrophe a t e r esponsible action? Further , this article will c onsider whe ther it is possible t o r e f or mula t e the m t o se r v e as though t e xpe r ime n ts applic able t o the cur r e n t e c o- logic al crisis, tha t is t o sho w r ele v an t aspects of r eality and t o induce ec ologic al c on v er sion (P orr as 2015, 136). 1. The context of the Last Man Thought Experiment If one had t o choose an ency clic al and a popular mo vie t o describe the curr en t cri - sis, one w ould pr obably name the ency clic al „Lauda t o si ’“ b y P ope Fr ancis (2015) and Adam McK a y ’ s mo vie Don’t Look Up (2021). The crisis of the 1960s also has its emblema tic papal ency clic al and popular film: „P acem in t erries “ b y P ope John XXIII (1963) and Fr anklin J . Scha ffner ’ s Planet of the Apes fr om 1968. While the f ormer w er e born in the c on t e x t of global w arming , the la tt er w er e cr ea t ed in the shado w of the thr ea t of w ar . T ed P os t ’ s Beneath the Planet of the Apes fr om 1970 pr esen ts an ic onic apoc alyp tic scene: T a ylor , the as tr onaut who arriv es on earth a ft er making a long space journ e y in a s t a t e of hiberna tion, pushes the butt on of a doomsda y de vice, ther eb y des tr o ying all living beings, inclu ding superior apes and inferior humans. Jus t thr ee y ear s la t er , in 1973, Richar d R outle y dr e w a similar apoc alyp tic pic - tur e a t the 15 th W orld Congr ess of Philosoph y b y asking the audience t o imagine Mr . Las t Man a ft er a global c a t acly sm as he des tr o y s all living beings, plan ts and animals c omple t ely . Does Mr . Las t Man act in a mor ally righ t w a y , kno wing tha t ther e will not be an y sen tien t or in t ellig en t being in the futur e who c ould e xperi- ence and enjo y the pr esence of flor a and f auna? It is no c oincidence tha t R outle y f ormula t ed his though t e xperimen t a t this time. Not only the tw o movies and the g ener al f ear dr ov e him t o dr a w up this apoc alyp tic sce nario , but also the apper cep tion of the ec olog ic al crisis (Ma the w s 2010, 543). The Club of R ome published its gr ound-br eaking r eport „ The Limits t o Gr o wth “ in 1972, pr o viding an e x t ensiv e and da t a-based pr ognosis on the ec o - logic al e ff ects of popula tion and ec onomic gr o wth (Meado w s e t.al. 1972). In 1967 L ynn Whit e Jr . published his f amous essa y „ The His t oric al R oots of Our E c ologic Crisis “ , wher e he outlines a his t or y of ideas – including Chris tianity , among other s - which had in fluenced the r ela tionship of the W es t ern w orld with the en vir on- men t (Whit e, 1967, 1203‒1207). He ar gues tha t W es t ern cultur e, wher e ev e- r y thing r e v olv es ar ound us hum ans, needs t o be chang ed: »Despit e Copernicus, all the c osmos r ot a t es ar ound our little globe. Despit e Dar win, w e ar e not, in our hearts, part of the na tur al pr ocess. W e ar e superior t o na tur e, c on t emp tuous of it, willing t o use it f or our sligh t es t whim.« (1204) R ou tl e y , wh o t o g e th er wi th h i s wi f e, V al R ou tl e y , p artici p a t ed activ el y i n Au s- tr alian en vir onmen t al mo v emen ts, c alls a tt en tion t o the limits of an thr opocen- tri sm. He r ai ses h i s v o i ce ag ai n s t W es t ern , ch au vi n i s ti c e th i cs, acc o r d i n g t o wh i ch »one should be able t o do wha t he wishe s, pr o v iding (1) tha t he doe s not har m 368 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 2 other s and (2) tha t he is not lik ely t o harm himself irr epar ably« (R outle y 1973, 207). Th is princ iple, ho w e v er , only r e f er s t o human beings and o v erlook s the en- vir onmen t. R outle y not only w an ts t o e x t end W es t ern e thics t o c onsider the en- vir onmen t, but he also w an ts t o de v elop a ne w , en vir onmen t al e thics, which c on- sider s na tur e less as an ins trumen t, but r a ther as in trinsic ally v aluable. 2. The Last Man Thought Experiment as social criticism Al though R outl e y does not use the t erm though t e xperi men t i n hi s ori gi n al arti- cl e, th e e x amp l e ab o u t Mr . L as t Man fi ts th e d e fi n i tio n o f th o u gh t e xp eri men ts i n pr actic al philosoph y . Since it sear ches f or the ans w er t o ho w »should w e e v alu- a t e wha t w ould happen« in tha t particular imaginar y situa tion, it should be c on - si d er ed as an e th i c al th o u gh t e xp eri men t (Gen d l er 2013, 25). R o u tl e y ’ s th o u gh t e xperimen t g oes as f ollo w s: »The las t man (or per son) sur viving the c ollap se of the w orld s y s t em la y s about him, elimina ting , as f ar as he c an, e v er y living thing , animal or plan t (but pai nlessly if y ou lik e, as a t the bes t aba tt oir s). Wha t he does is quit e permissible acc or ding t o basic chauvinism, but on en vir onmen t al gr ounds wha t he does is wr ong. Mor eo v er , one does not ha v e t o be c ommitt ed t o esot eric v alues t o r eg ar d Mr . Las t Man as beha ving badly (the r eason be- ing perhap s tha t r adic al thinking and v alues ha v e shift ed in an en vir on- men t al dir ection in adv ance of c orr esponding shifts in the f ormula tion of fundamen t al e v alua tiv e principles).« (1973, 207) Although it diff er s fr om tr aditional though t e xperimen ts by s t arting with a s t a t e- men t ins t ead of a ques tion, it c an s till easily function as a though t e xperimen t. As all though t e xperimen ts do , the Las t Man Ex ample se ts up a tr ap f or the audience. If someone c ondemns the actions of Mr . Las t Man, he or she ther eby departs fr om the chauvinism criticised b y R outle y . Since the dea th of Mr . Las t Man is also the d ea th o f th e l as t i n t el l i g en t b ei n g , n o o n e r emai n s t o e xp eri en ce th e p o t en tial e f - f ects of the sur viv al or de v as t a tion of the na tur al en vir onmen t. 3. Does Nature have Intrinsic Value? The tho ugh t e xperimen t brings the audience in t o a w orld without a subject and ask s whe the r na tur e posse sse s v alue on its o wn, without the pr e se nce of human beings. If »na tur al en tities pos sess in trinsic v alue, this w ould mos t lik ely pr o vide the s tr ong es t plausible r eason f or pr eser ving them when the y migh t other wise be de s tr o y e d f or the ir ins tr um e n t al v alue as, f or e x am ple , e c onom ic r e sour c e s« (Cart er 2004, 60). This is wh y it is essen tial f or R outle y and other en vir onmen t alis ts t o show the in trinsic v alue of na tur e. Since, if na tur e r eceiv es dis tinctiv e pr ot ection along with its non-an thr opocen tric vie w , an y damag e c aused t o na tur e c annot be 369 Gusztáv Kovács - After the Catastrophe jus tified mer ely b y human in t er es ts. R outle y ques tions one of the fundamen t al t en e ts o f W es t ern th o u gh t, wh i ch d r a w s a cl ear d i s tin ctio n b e tw een h u man s an d other en tities of the w orld. Immanuel K an t writ es the f ollo wings c oncerning per - sons in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals : »The human being , ho w e - v er , is not a thing , hence not some thing tha t c an be used mer ely as a means but mus t in all his actions alw a y s be c onsider ed as an end in itself .« (2002, 4:429) But if na tur e has ultima t e v alue, and it, ther e f or e, c annot »be used mer ely as a means«, it mo v es in t o a c a t eg or y tha t thus f ar has been r eser v ed only f or per sons. If this w er e t o be true, wha t in tuition does the though t e xperimen t trig g er? Mos t people w ould pr obably in tuitiv ely c ondemn the poin tless des truction since the descrip tion does not sa y an y thing neither about Mr . Las t Man’ s motiv a tion nor about his char act er . Des truction motiv a t ed b y ang er is als o in tuitiv ely turned do wn as a poin tless deed. 4. The Last Man Thought Experiment as Social Criticism Although R outle y ’ s though t e xperimen t f ails t o certif y the in trinsic v alue of na- tur e, it does succeed in criticizing the w a y c on t empor ar y socie ties tr ea t na tur e. R outle y f ormula t es thr ee other though t e xperimen ts in his article, tw o of which ar e modified v er sions of the original Last Man Thought Experiment. In the Las t P eople Ex ample, R outle y describes a gr oup of people who know tha t th e y ar e th e l as t o f th ei r ki n d ( R o u tl e y 1973, 207‒208) . T h e y ar e u n ab l e t o r ep r o - duce themselv es due t o the damag e c aused b y some sort of r adia tion. Ther e is no chance tha t r a tional beings will e v er t ak e their place, thus a succession is ruled out this w a y , t oo. The Las t P eople decide t o eng ag e in activities thr ough which the y e xploit all na tur al r esour ces on earth: »The y humanely e x t ermina t e e v er y wild animal and the y elimina t e the fish of the seas, the y put all ar able land under in t ensiv e cultiv a tion, and all r emaining f or es ts disappear in f a v our of quarries or plan t a tions, and so on.« (208) Ho w e v er , in c on tr as t t o Mr . Las t Man, the y ar e able t o jus tif y their actions: »the y belie v e it is the w a y t o salv a tion or t o perf ection, or th e y ar e si mp l y sa tis f yi n g r easo n ab l e n eed s, o r e v en th a t i t i s n eed ed t o k eep th e las t people emplo y ed or occupied so tha t the y do not w orr y t oo much about their impending e xtinctions.« (208) R outle y finds their actions and their jus tific a tion th a t »th e y d o n o t wi l fu l l y d es tr o y n a tu r al r eso u r ces /. . . / en vi r o n men t al l y i n ad e- qua t e « (208). This sho w s tha t R outle y did not me an t o use this se c ond v e r sion as part of the though t e xperimen t, but mer ely as an e x ample of how it migh t mislead us if w e c onc e iv e e n v ir onm e n t al e thics only as an e x t e nsion of w ha t R outle y c alls W es t ern chauvinis t e thics. He is righ t in claiming tha t the Las t Man Ex ample does not ser v e his purposes. It does not induce the in tuition qualif ying the Las t P eople’ s beha viour as e thi - c ally bad. F or if their actions ar e done with g ood r eason, e. g., t o sus t ain their liv es or t o pr e v en t them fr om suff er ing , mos t people w ould not be lik ely t o in tuitiv ely 370 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 2 c ondemn their beha viour . A v er y pr ecious piece of art c ould be used and e v en de s t r o y e d unde r c e r t ain c onditions w it h g ood r e ason - a t le as t w he n hum an liv e s ar e a t s t ak e - and the same is true with the des truction of na tur al objects. R outle y admits tha t the in tuition induced b y the ar gumen t does not fit with his idea of ‚ an en vir onmen t al e thics ‘ acc or ding t o which »the las t people ha v e beha v ed badly; the y ha v e simplified and lar g ely des tr o y ed all the na tur al ec os y s t ems, and with their demise the w orld will soon be an ugly and lar g ely wr eck ed place« (208). The r easons giv en in the c ase of the Las t P eople f or the e xplo it a tion of na tur e ar e in tuitiv ely jus tified, especially since the y happen t o be mos tly f or humane purposes. Acc or dingly , R outle y tr ans f orms the imaginar y scenario t o poin t a t pur - pose s jus tifie d b y W e s t e r n e thics, which the audie nce mig h t in tuitiv e ly r e je ct. He poin ts t o the logic of indus trialis t socie ties and their r ela tionship with na tur e t o sho w the f ailur e of e thic al chauvinism. »The last man is an industrialist; he runs a giant complex of automated factories and farms which he proceeds to extend. He produces automobiles among other things, from rene wable and recyclable resource s of course, onl y he dumps and recycl es these shortl y after manufacture and sal e to a dummy buyer instead of puttin g them on the road for a short time as we do. Of course, he has the best of reasons for his activity, e.g. he is increasing gross world product, or he is improving output to fulfil some plan, and he will be increasing his own and general welfare since he much prefers increased output and productivity. The entrepreneur ’ s beha viour is on the W es t ern ethic quit e permissible; indeed, his c onduct is c om- monly though t t o be quit e fine and ma y e v en mee t P ar e t o op timality r e - quir emen ts giv en pr e v ailing notions of being be tt er off .« (208) The beha viour of the indus trialis t Mr . Las t Man is pr obably in tuitiv ely r eject ed by mos t people. R easons such as »incr easing gr oss w orld pr oduct«, »impr oving output t o fulfil some plan«, or »incr easing his own and g ener al w elf ar e« ar e seen solely as a means t o an end; thus, the y ha v e only ins trumen t al v alue. The in tuitiv e r esponse of disgus t w ould sug g es t tha t the in t egrity of na tur e is mor e v aluable than the r ea- sons men tioned. R outley claims tha t »the en tr epr eneur ’ s beha viour is on the W es t - ern e thic quit e permissible; indeed, his c onduct is c ommonly though t t o be quit e fine and ma y ev en meet P ar et o optimality r equir emen ts giv en pr ev ailing notions of being ,be tt er off ‘« (208). In t er es tingly , the Gr ea t En tr epr eneur Ex ample lack s an- thr opocen trism. It is not the man who is a t the cen tr e of Mr . Las t Man’ s actions, but only the optimiz a tion of the indus trial pr ocess and the e xpansion of the indus trial s y s t em. Thus, indus trialism is f alsely iden tified with an thr opocen trism; ho w e v er , the Gr ea t En tr epr eneur Ex ample is a clear and legitima t e criticism of the c on t em - por ary indus trial s y s t em and its blindness t o all-na tur al s y s t ems. R outle y does not s t op a t the analy sis of the logic of indus trialism; he also t ar - g e ts the other side of the s y s t em: the desir e t o c onsume. He uses the actual e x - ample of the hun ting of the blue whale, which le ft the popula tion on the v er g e of 371 Gusztáv Kovács - After the Catastrophe e xtinction. R outle y describes the blue whale as a ,mix ed g ood‘ which has both public and priv a t e v alue. He, ho w e v er , f ocuses on the la tt er aspect, namely its use »as a sour ce of v aluable oil and mea t« (208). In the e x ample, the possible harms t o individuals or socie ty ar e neutr aliz ed so tha t whale hun ting appear s t o be al- mos t neutr al with r eg ar d t o human individuals or c ommunities: »it does not harm the whaler s; it does not harm or ph y sic ally in t erf er e with other s in an y good sense.« (208) Mor eo v er , whaler s do not s t and in the need of hun ting , since those who migh t be up se t b y whale hun ting ar e »pr epar ed t o c ompensa t e the whaler s if the y desis t« (208). Thus, it is assur ed tha t the hun ting and its final r esult, the e x tinction of the blue whale, does not harm an y one. Although he c annot elimi - na t e the suspicion tha t it migh t s till harm other s, e v en the mos t ob vious harms t o man ar e neutr aliz ed. This is bec ause the V anishing Species Ex ample is an ac - tu al e x amp l e wi th al r ead y e xi s tin g i mp l i c a tio n s an d p r esu p p o si tio n s fr o m th e au - dience. R outle y claims tha t »the beha viour of the whaler s in elimina ting this mag - nificen t species of whale is acc or dingly quit e permissible - a t leas t acc or ding t o basic chauv inism. But on an e n v ir onme n t al e thic it is not« (208). The poin t is tha t chauvinism, which is the underlying mor ality of c onsumer socie ty and the logic of the fr ee mar k e t, is simply bl ind t o the e thic al pr oblem of making the w orld of such a species as the blue whale poor er b y hun ting. Both e x amples, The Gr ea t En tr epr eneur Ex ample and The V anishing Species Ex ample, ar e much closer t o the Lebenswelt of the audience than The Las t Man Ex am ple . Indus tr ialism and c onsume r soc ie ty ha v e be e n fundam e n t al e xpe r ie nc- es of the w es t ern w orld and w er e especially dominan t in the 1970s. Using these e x amples, R outle y manag ed t o poin t a t the blindness of indus trialis t and c on - sumer men t ality t ow ar ds na tur e and its v alue. The y induce obvious in tuitions w hic h pr ot e s t ag ains t the de e ds of the indus tr ialis t Mr . Las t Man and the w hale hun t er s, and which also succeed a t poin ting a t the wr ongness of the senseless des truction of na tur e. Neither pr oduction nor c onsump tion appear s t o be as v alu- able – i.e., ha ving final v alue - which w ould jus tif y the des truction of na tur e. 5. The Context of Don’t look up The mo vie The Planet of the Apes and R outle y ’ s Last Man Thought Experiment both f ocus on a pr oblem r ec ogniz ed not so long ag o. The film Don’t Look Up focus - es on challeng e mankind has kno wn about f or a t leas t half a cen tur y . The pr edic- tions pr oposed in the 1972 r eport pr o v ed t o be v alid, and the pr ocesses harming na tur e pe r sis t and br ing us close r t o the br e ak do wn of na tur al and social s y s t e ms (Sjø v aag 2016, 377‒390). It is difficult t o doub t the thesis sa ying tha t w e ar e close t o the lim it s of de v e lopm e n t , m or e pr e c ise ly a t the lim it s of the e ndur anc e of na - tur e , which is ne ce ssar y f or the sur v iv al of mank ind. Ce r t ainly , the r e is a minor ity tha t doub ts the r eality of the na tur al crisis or global w arming. This f act, ho w e v e r , s tr eng thens the c ase tha t no one with minimal a w ar eness and in f orma tion c an e v ade the ques tion. The thr ea t has bec ome permanen t b y no w . 372 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 2 6. Don’t Look Up as a Thought Experiment If w e w an t t o summariz e Don’t Look Up in the f orm of a though t e xperimen t, the Las t Man Ex ample is not the mos t help ful f or this purpose–– not only bec ause in the mo vie ther e ar e people who sur viv e the c a t acly sm, but also due t o its parti- cular per spectiv e. In the Las t Man Though t Experimen t, w e ar e f or ced t o e v alua t e the actions of another per son, social act or , gr oup or people in tuitiv ely , while the mo vie – thr ough its unmis t ak able analogy with our w orld –, places its vie w er s in the middle of the s t or y which runs t o w ar ds a c a t as tr ophe. Concerning lit er ar y or his t oric al par allels, the s t or y of Don’t Look Up r esembles mo s t cl o s el y th o se p r o p h e ti c b i b l i c al s t o ri es i n wh i ch th e p r o p h e ti c v o i ce i s d i s r e- g ar ded, and the pr ophe t mus t suff er humilia tion and per secution. If w e had t o r e f ormula t e the s t or y of the mo vie in the f orm of a though t e xperimen t, the T r ol- le y Pr oblem Though t Experimen t suits this purpose the bes t: Imagine tha t w e ar e in San Fr ancisc o and plan t o tr a v el on one of its f amous c able c ar s. W e ar e w aiting a t the s t a tion along with our friend s and some s tr ang- er s t o en t er the v ehicle. The cr o w d is gr o wing , and w e ar e f or ced t o s t and on the r ails. Suddenly w e see tha t a runa w a y c able c ar is barr elling t o w ar d the s t a tion. W e r ealiz e tha t if w e don’t s t op it, the mons tr ous v ehicle will run o v er the pas- seng er s w aiting on the r ails. A t this momen t w e also g e t sigh t of a v er y f ancy and e xpensiv e c ar park ed nearb y . Ar e the people w aiting a t the s t a tion – e v en if the y ha v e the chance t o esc ape the c ollision – mor ally oblig ed t o s t op the runa w a y tr olle y b y pushing the f ancy , e xpensiv e c ar on t o the r ails, if this is the only w a y t o sa v e the liv es of the passeng er s s t anding on the r ails and unable t o esc ape? Our fir s t in tuitiv e r esponse is cert ainly a clear ,y es ‘ , since people’ s liv es ar e mor e import an t than things, no ma tt er ho w e xpensiv e the y migh t be. But ho w does it chang e our in tuitiv e mor al r esponse if w e pr o vide some additional in f orma tion c oncerning the uniqueness of the c able c ar? As the c able c ar adv ances t ow ar d us, w e find out tha t it is unique and irr eplace- able, since it w as the fir s t c able c ar tr a v er sing the s tr ee ts of San Fr ancisc o. W e also kno w ho w much inc ome it pr oduces each y ear as a t ouris t a ttr action f or the city . Mor eo v er , it is also clear tha t pushing the f ancy and e xpensiv e c ar on the r ails is not the only w a y t o s t op it. If someone w as f as t enough t o jump in t o the c able c ar and w as able t o pull the emer g ency br ak e, the c able c ar c ould be s t opped without an y damag e. This plan, how e v er , is v er y risky and less secur e in c omparison t o pushing the f ancy e xpensiv e c ar on t o the r ails. Although w e kno w tha t the la tt er op tion w ould r esult in the des truction of San Fr ancisc o’ s his t oric fir s t c able c ar , fr om an e thic al poin t of vie w , it is mor e import an t t o sa v e the human liv es a t s t ak e. Similarities emer g e in the c ase of the as t er oid appr oaching the E arth: the pr o- tagonists of Don’t Look Up c an v ass the w orld of politics and media in a pr ophe tic f ashion, w arning people of the imminen t dang er . The Pr esiden t of the Unit ed St a t es s till op ts f or bringing the as t er oid t o the gr ound via a v er y risky oper a tion – ins t ead of des tr o ying it in a s tr aigh tf or w ar d manner , with the help of r ock e ts. 373 Gusztáv Kovács - After the Catastrophe The r eason motiv a ting this decision is the v aluable pr ecious me t als c arried b y the as t e r oid. W hile the tw o pr ot ag onis ts r e aliz e the r e al dang e r imme dia t e ly and c an act r esponsibly , decision-mak er s and media per sonnel act diff er en tly than one w ould in tuitiv ely – and a ft er r a tional c onsider a tion – r espond t o the situa tion. This is the k e y t o the sa tiric al char act er of the mo vie. Don’t Look Up pr o vides its vie w er s with a r e v er se though t e xperimen t: it t ells a mor ally univ oc al s t or y – since the scenario with the as t er oid thr ea t ening all lif e on E arth c annot be under s t ood as a mor al dilemma, jus t lik e the trig g er ed in tui - tiv e r esp o n se c an n o t b e l ab el l ed as u n cert ai n . T h e p o w erf u l e ff ect o f th e fi l m l i es in the t ension be tw een this clear e thic al e v alua tion of the scenario , and the irr a- tional actions of mos t of the film’ s char act er s. 7. Don’t Look Up as Social Criticism and the Power of Prayer The film is a pow erful criticism of the functional diff er en tia tion of societies, namely th a t th e d i ff er en t segmen ts o f so ci e ty – su ch as ec o n o m y , i n d u s tr y , h eal th c ar e, educ a tion, or r e ligion – each oper a t e acc or ding t o their o wn dis tinctiv e logic and ar e unable t o tr anscend the inner rules of their functioning (Luhmann 1977). The means f or this criticism ar e the irr a tional r eactions of the char act er s t o the ne w s of the as t er oid appr oaching the E arth: the hos ts of a morning sho w t alk s about this imminen t dang er t o mankind and all na tur e as en t ert ainmen t ne w s, while the Pr esiden t of the Unit ed St a t es is only in t er es t ed in ho w the as t er oid migh t a ff ect the upc oming election. Neither the logic of en t ert ainmen t nor the logic of politics ar e c apable of addr essing this simple challeng e. One import an t messag e of the mo vie is the need f or an all-embr acing logic – with the r esponsible subject a t its heart, c apable of r ec ognizing pr oblems in a global w a y and acting acc or dingly –, tr anscending the particular logic of the diff er en t segmen ts of socie ty . When c onsidering the fundamen t al needs of human beings, the curr en t seg - men t a tion of the social s y s t em migh t pr o v e itself irr a tional. This culmina t es in the pr a y er of the pr esiden t ’ s son and chie f of s t a ff: »I’ve been noticing a lot of prayers recently, for people during this time, and I commend that. But I also want to give a prayer for stuff. There’s dope stuff, like material stuff, like sick apartments and watches and cars, and clothes and shit that could all go away, and I don’t want to see that stuff go away, so I’m gonna say a prayer for that stuff. Amen.« (Cohen 2021) This pr a y er is the mos t r adic al criticism of c onsumer socie ty , since in a bor der - line situa tion when the e xis t ence of mankind is a t s t ak e, it ho lds things as impor - t an t, which – a t leas t in this sit ua tion – pr o v e t o be irr ele v an t. Bor derline situa ti- ons and pr a y er both cr ea t e the space f or ab solut e hones ty b y virtue of their cha- r act er . Jus t as c onsumer socie ties ar e only able t o function with the logic of tri- 374 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 2 g g ering , sus t ain ing , and incr easing c onsumer appe tit e, the pr esiden t ’ s son in the mo vie is unable t o r ec ogniz e wha t is import an t in lif e. In c on tr as t, it is Y ule – a y oungs t er g amer and son of a born-ag ain Chris tian mothe r –, who use s authe n tic r e lig ious lang uag e and is able t o pr a y authe n tic ally in dir e cir cums t ances: »Dearest Father and Almighty Creator, we ask for your grace tonight, despite our prid e. Your forgiveness, despite our doubt. Most of all, Lord, we ask for your love to soothe us through these dark times. May we face whatever is to come, in your divine will, with courage and open hearts of acceptance. Amen.« (Bellm 2022) This pr a y er pr o v es t o be a plea in f a v our of r eligious tr aditions and ins titutions r esponsible f or the handing do wn of r eligious tr adition fr om one g ener a tion t o another . Y ule r elies on the r eligious languag e he learned fr om his born-ag ain Chris- tian mother , whose r el i gi ous c ommuni ty he has turned hi s back on. Thi s pr a y er i s authen tic in tw o w a y s: it is in acc or dance with the tr adition of sa ying gr ace a t sup- per , and it mirr or s the r eality of those ar ound the dinner t able and mak es hope pr esen t e v en in this hopeless situa tion. (Pla t o vnjak and S v e t elj 2021, 798) 8. Conclusion: Look Up! If w e put the tw o s t ories – tha t of the Las t Man Though t Experimen t and the movie Don’t Look Up –, the pioneeri ng char act er of R outle y ’ s imaginar y scenario bec o- mes visible immedia t ely . He tried t o appr oach a r easonably ne w pr oblem in a no- v el w a y . Despit e its ac ademic achie v emen t c oncerning the in trinsic v alue of na tur e, it had litt le e ff e ct on the c ause of en vir onmen t alis t pur suits since it dr e w a sharp line be tw een man and na tur e. All v er sions of the Las t Man Though t Experimen t ended in an imaginar y w orld without the pr esence of human beings. This dis t an- cing fr om the e xis t en tial r ele v ance of na tur e w as a necessar y elemen t in each of these scenarios since the y w er e designed t o support the idea of in trinsic v alue. It is diff er en t fr om the s t or y of Don’t Look Up, since the as t er oid appr oaching the E arth is an ob vious analogy t o the en vir onmen t al crisis – mor e particularly t o global w arming – which is thr ea t ening our w orld. In c on tr as t t o the Last Man Thought Experiment, the film tries t o poin t a t a v alue not inde penden t of human c ognition, but r a ther within the Lebenswelt of human beings. It does not t ak e the in trinsic v alue of na tur e as its s t arting poin t, but r a ther pur sues the ans w er t o the ques tion c oncerning the e xis t en tially v aluable things in human lif e: Wha t is w orth living f or and wha t is not? This c on tr as t is displa y ed b y the ,pr a y er f or s tuff ‘ , ut - t e r e d b y the P r e side n t ’ s son on be half of the public, and the pe nultima t e sce ne of gr ace a t the dinner t able, which does not in t end t o in f orm the public but is an act of those pr esen t addr essing God, who cr ea t es and sus t ains humankind and the w orld both. 375 Gusztáv Kovács - After the Catastrophe The film f ormula t es a clear messag e f or e v er y one: decision-mak er s should sur - pass the logic of particular g oals, and e v er y da y people ar e ur g ed t o disc o v er wha t is import an t her e and no w in their liv es. 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