Virtue Ethics and the Ecological Self: From Environmental to Ecological Virtues
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_E3A2C90CA98C
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Virtue Ethics and the Ecological Self: From Environmental to Ecological Virtues
Journal
Philosophies
ISSN
2409-9287
Publication state
Published
Issued date
09/02/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
9
Number
1
Pages
NA
Language
english
Abstract
This article examines how a non-anthropocentric virtue ethics can truly avoid an anthropocentric bias in the ethical evaluation of a situation where the environment is at stake. It argues that a non-anthropocentric virtue ethics capable of avoiding the pitfall of an anthropocentric bias can only conceive of the ultimate good—from which virtues are defined—in reference to an ecological self. Such a self implies that the natural environment is not simply a condition for human flourishing, or something that complements it by adding the proper good of animals, organisms or ecosystems. Fulfilment is not that of a human self, but that of an ecological self: the natural environment or nature is not an external but an internal good. Therefore, the virtues or character traits that such an ecological self must nurture and develop leads us ultimately to distinguish—without opposing them—three different forms of virtue ethics applied to the environment, depending on whether it is anthropocentric or non-anthropocentric and whether nature is considered extrinsically or intrinsically. Such distinctions are also crucial to determine how we conceive of the political community and the collective goals that virtuous citizens assign to it (for instance, to preserve biodiversity, to tackle climate change, and so on).
Keywords
ecological self, human flourishing, ultimate good, ecological virtue, environmental virtue, virtue ethics
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
15/05/2024 13:43
Last modification date
22/05/2024 5:59