Hans Jonas' Principle of Responsibility A Philosophical Analysis of Its Foundations, Kantian Contrasts, and Ontological Extensions

This text offers a systematic analysis of Hans Jonas’ principle of responsibility, formulated as an imperative to preserve the conditions for the continued existence of genuine human life on Earth. It examines the historical and philosophical origins of this imperative — the experience of the Holocaust, aspects of Heidegger’s existential ontology, and the global risks of modern technological civilization. The study contrasts Jonas’ approach with Kant’s categorical imperative, highlighting the shift from logical universalisability to real future‑compatibility and the central role of temporality. Finally, the text develops three independent approaches to grounding Jonas’ ethics: a social‑relational analysis of “ought,” a part‑whole structural argument, and an ontological account of the genesis of facts, needs, values, and the relation between being, non‑being, and the emergence of normativity.