Vol.:(0123456789) Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-019-09803-1 1 3 REVIEW PAPER Anthropodicy and the Fate of Humanity in the Anthropocene: From the Disenchantment of Evil to the Re‑enchantment of Sufering Ionut Untea 1 Accepted: 19 September 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract The rise of a collective conscience of a new epoch, the Anthropocene, has brought to the fore scientists’ predictions of irreversible damage done to the Earth’s ecosys- tems within barely a decade. The passive attitude worldwide of placing the task of overcoming the evil consequences of human activity on specialized forums (e.g., national governments and international organizations) has already proved to be insufcient. In this context, Hamilton seeks to continue Becker’s project of laying down the foundations of an “anthropodicy,” seen as a humanistic science meant to bring a participatory dimension to the humanity’s dealing with the degradation of the conditions of civilized life on Earth. Keywords Anthropocene · Anthropodicy · Sufering · Disenchantment · Re-enchantment · Ecology Introduction In a global context marked by “a kind of dark realism” (Nordhaus 2019) over the human possibilities of reversing the impact of economic activity on the planet’s eco- logical stability within “barely a decade” (Washington Post 2018; IPCC 2018), not only ordinary citizens, but also scientists refuse to believe that humanity will simply accept the situation. Nordhaus states that “it’s not too late” (2019) to overcome the worst outcome for the planet and its ecological stability, while Trenberth, although admitting that societies may most probably continue on the path of high emissions by 2040, argues that they will eventually fnd ways of going out of the crisis (Fritz 2019). In the face of what may seem inevitable at this moment, many people see no * Ionut Untea untea_ionut@126.com 1 Room 507, Department of Philosophy and Science, School of Humanities, Wenke Building A, Jiulonghu Campus, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, Jiangsu Province, China