On the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the need to rethink the concept of the environmental legislation

Introduction: the coronavirus pandemic has led to severe medical, economic, political and other consequences, but the causes of its occurrence have not been sufficiently studied in the social sciences. The authors propose a discussion of this problem from the standpoint of the philosophy of environmental law. The purpose of the research: to show the relationship between the state of the environment and human health, to argue the hypothesis that the coronavirus pandemic is caused by the environmental factors. Tasks: to determine the main content elements of the philosophy of environmental law; provide arguments in favor of the hypothesis about the impact of environmental pollution on the life and health of not only humans, but also wild animals; offer a list of legislative measures to reduce the human pressure on nature, which will prevent or reduce the response of Nature to human exposure. Methods: dialectical, system, logical, analysis, synthesis. Results: the close relationship between philosophy and law is studied, on the basis of which a new direction of scientific research can be formulated - “the philosophy of environmental law”. The use of the new methodology allows us to put new scientific hypotheses and search for answers to current problems of modern social life, including those related to the appearance and consequences of the coronavirus. Conclusions: the authors argue for a systemic relationship between the environmental degradation and the response of Nature, which is manifested not only in the climate change, but also in the emergence of new types of “environmental diseases” which are common to humans and animals. Overcoming the deadly threat to humanity is only possible by changing the established consumer worldview, which should be manifested in a new perception of Nature and the resulting change in the environmental legislation.