What are Geoethics?
“not a limit to the freedom of action
but a new opportunity […] to contribute […]
the best way forward for society”
Peppoloni & Di Capua (2015)
shown here during a demonstration in 2017,
have opposed the Dakota Access Pipeline for years.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Environmental Ethics
the tradeoff between ethical concerns
and short-term economic benefits
* these both relate to what we value and how our values influence our actions
Values
How do we value things?
| VALUE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Use value | Something we use directly |
| Existence value | Knowing that something exists, even if we never experience it ourselves |
| Option value | Something we might use later |
| Aesthetic value | Something of beauty or emotional appeal |
| Scientific value | Something for research |
| Educational value | Something for teaching and learning |
| Cultural value | Something that sustains or defines a culture |
| MORALS | ETHICS |
| Personal principles with respect to right/wrong | Rules of conduct with respect to our culture |
| Individual | Societal |
| Internal | External |
| Something we “believe in” | Because society “says so” |
| Transcendental | Governed |
Ethics
the set of morals or beliefs of a given group that guide and clarify our actions
… so who is the group?
- Relativists
- each culture should be allowed their own ethics
(e.g., freedom of religion)
- Universalists
- there exist a single set of ethics that hold true for all cultures
(e.g. human rights/equality)
From here things get tricky
Back to geoethics
“The well-being and survival of humankind depends on the Earth’s habitability and resources.”
Geoethics are
“the values which underpin appropriate behaviors and practices, wherever human activities interact with the Earth system”
IAPG
Readings
Task
Find an article online (news story, blog post, journal article, etc.), post a link to it in our discussion forum and write a few sentences discussing what is of value and what are the major ethical points of the article.
What is your opinion of the ethical concern?