Hans Jonas`'s ethics applied on the use of agrochemicals in Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses how the Ethics of Responsibility, a philosophical postulate proposed by the German philosopher Hans Jonas (1903-1993), in his paper “Principle Responsibility: Essay on an Ethics for Technological Civilization”, could help in the discussion about the intensive use of pesticides in Brazil considering numerous evidences that demonstrate the risks of these products to the health of the population. Since 2008 Brazil appears as the largest consumer of pesticides in the world, being among its largest manufacturers. However, studies carried out by ANVISA, PARA and WHO, have demonstrated a causal relationship between contact with pesticides and the development of various diseases. In the present work, the method of deductive approach, using bibliographical and documentary research techniques. It is concluded that the ethics of responsibility, especially in relation to the “heuristic of fear”, presents, being a philosophical precept, the argumentative capacity to be used in the juridical sphere in combination with: the constitutional provision of the right to an ecologically balanced environment ; the Principle of Precaution; and to stimulate scientific research on the subject, since recognition of the lack of power to predict the consequences of using a technology is an ethical duty.