Daijiworld Magazine, Vol.12, Issue 6, November 2020

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DAIJIWORLD Magazine | November 2020
ture’s writings on the wall. This
only reinforces the sentiments of
the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Gustav
Jung on the self annihilating
tendencies of Man himself and
his Hubris. His quote “The only
danger that exists is man himself.
He is the great danger. We are the
origin of all coming evil. And we
are pitifully unaware of it. We
know nothing of man, too far little.
His psyche should be studied.
We need far more understanding
of the human nature” certainly
has caused ripples in my mind
reiterating the conflict between
Human civilisation and Mother
Nature. Humanity’s destruction
of biodiversity and Global habitat
fragmentation is now seen as
COVID-19, and I would state that
COVID-19 may be just the end of
only the beginning of many more
pandemics to unleash on humanity.
In the midst of the COVID-19
pandemonium, it is quintessential
for mankind, as a part of human
society on planet Earth, to have
the mindfulness and re awakening
of our collective consciousness
and humanity to reflect deeply
upon what COVID-19 crisis is
telling us about our role in these
emerging infectious disorders and
pandemics and about what we
can do to avoid them in the future.
In another words, I reiterate that
the COVID-19 crisis is forcing the
human collective consciousness
to make a choice between either
changing our anthropocentric
views, or face the danger of an unwitting
extermination as a species
from Mother Nature.
As a free thinker, an optimistic
pessimist, an autodidact, and
a realist, I looked through the
eyepiece of environmentalism on
what the COVID-19 health crisis is
telling humanity, and trying to inform
our collective consciousness.
Therefore, I ask a quintessential
question: ‘Is COVID-19 pandemic
Mother Nature’s response to Human
transgression of the delicate
and finite eco-system? This self
reflective thought emanated after
reminiscing the quote by the contemporary
environmentalist and
conservationist Rachel Carson
-“Man is a part of nature, and his
war against nature is inevitably a
war against himself.” Should not
humanity need to institute a new
holistic policy of peaceful co-existentialism
with Mother Nature
through discipline of planetary
health, environmental humanities,
and ecocentrism? Despite
the retrospect scope of human
pandemic history, it is evident
from the civilizational epidemiology
of the human race that we
learn nothing from past pandemic
history, and thus the hubris of
anthropocentrism has resulted
in human-induced environmental
issues. Human mistreatment
of the natural environment has
turned out to have distinctly painful
boomerang effects.
Anthropocentrism posits human
centeredness that refers to a
philosophical world view where
human beings are the dominant
species on the Earth in comparison
to other living and nonliving
things, and justifies the exploitation
of nature for the sake of human
welfare. Are bats the enemy
in the fight against COVID‐19 and
other infectious diseases such as
Ebola and Nipah virus outbreaks?
Although bats provide a reservoir
of zoonoticviruses (including
coronaviruses), it is the loss of bat
habitat, batconservation threat,
and other anthropogenic drivers
that promote the human–wildlife
conflict and altered host–virus
dynamicsto be the major risk
factor for zoonotic disease emergence
byincreasing the risk of
viral spillover from bats. Human
behaviour and activities that increase
exposure to bats will likely
increase the opportunity for infections.
Understandably, bats are
not to be blamed.
The various anthropogenic
factors, especially human transgression
and fragmentation of
wildlife habitats, have undoubtedly
caused environmental degradation,
habitat fragmentation,
and biodiversity loss, resulting in
“human–wildlife conflict” as well
as an earth systems crisis. The
global habitat fragmentation, degraded
landscapes, and habitat
loss with the disrupted ecosytem
inevitably drive the wild animals
out of their natural habitats and
bring people into closer contact
with animal species they never
may have been near before. The
human transgression (deforestation,
logging, mining, road building,
wildlife hunting, wild animal
trade, and bush meat trade) reduces
the natural barriers between
virus host animals and humans,
encouraging the transmission of
pathogens from animals to humans.
The bush meat, including
bat bush meat and game meat,