A monograph that considers man’s place in nature
Jimmy Xerri delves into the intersection of philosophy, responsibility and the environment
Man’s Unique Place in the Environment and his responsibility towards the Ecosystem. Philosophy at the Service of Mother Earth
By Jimmy Xerri
Self-published, 2025
More than 60 years after the ‘Menuna storm’, (a storm that struck Gozo in late August 1964 in such a way that it even carried a gentleman from within his home in Ta’ Kerċem to his death), the incident is still very much on people’s lips in Gozo. It comes up in conversations every time the island is visited by the characteristic annual autumn storm.
This is what came to mind when I began to read Mgr Jimmy Xerri’s interesting monograph entitled Man’s Unique Place in the Environment and his responsibility towards the Ecosystem. The author, being both a graduate and a lecturer in philosophy, added the subtitle ‘Philosophy at the service of Mother Earth’, which is both apt and timely.
The publication we have in our hands could have been easily inspired by the late Pope Francis’s interest in the Church’s call to look after the environment. The Argentinian pope wrote the first green encyclical ever entitled Laudato Sì’ inspired by the Canticle of St Francis of Assisi.
Shortly before his death, he penned another document entitled Laudate Deum which once again emphasises the urgency of the need to look after our world which he had nicknamed ‘our common home’ in his encyclical. Even though there are still sceptics who do not believe in the phenomenon of climate change, the frequency of natural disasters should be in itself a reason enough to feel preoccupied about the present condition of planet Earth.
The book is written in a systematic fashion. The author first outlines the degradation of the environment by humans throughout the ages, then proceeds to analyse the contribution of science, technology, philosophy and civil society to the environment.
Then, in the last two chapters before the conclusion, he focuses on the two papal documents about the environment issued by Pope Francis as well as providing an interesting view on four authors who wrote about the subject, these being Francis Bacon, Victor Hugo, Aldous Huxley and Harvey Cox.
A recent Facebook post had this to say: “Earth enters a ‘new phase’ as it reaches its first major climate threshold. A groundbreaking global assessment led by 160 scientists warns that the planet has now crossed its initial climate-tipping point – the large-scale decline of coral reefs. This shift marks the start of a long-anticipated transition that scientists describe as both catastrophic and potentially irreversible.”
Taking this into consideration, Xerri’s monograph makes for obligatory reading. The way he presents our moral commitment to look after the environment by taking heed of what the latest scientific developments are telling us, presented against the background of the Catholic Church’s latest ecotheological teaching about the matter, render the publication a timely one indeed.
Those who are interested to obtain a copy may visit the religious bookshop behind the Bishop’s Curia standing at the corner where Dun Karl Bondi Street meets Agius de Soldanis Street in the heart of Victoria.