Among the new fields of research in ethics, climate ethics occupies a singular place. This is because the process it addresses is so large and accelerating that has accumulated an enormous amount of momentum—indeed capable of changing the world as we know it in an unprecedented manner.
Precisely these characteristics of climate change—its “out of scale” magnitude, and its long temporal resonance—paired with the traditional anthropocentric views with which much of the modern world has set up its relationship with the planet, caused much of our unreadiness in front of the issue. Even outside the pockets of open skepticism—that still endure in certain circles—the predominant attitude has been to continue business as usual with the same behaviors and expectations that have helped bring us to the point of no return where we now find ourselves. This is due at least in part to the unpreparedness of our moral theories and tools. The novelty of the ethical and conceptual challenges posed by climate change is such that it challenges numerous paradigms of traditional Western moral thought—starting with the scope and range of justice, the temporal and spatial extent of ethical responsibility, and the kind of values to be assumed. These and other elements need to be rethought in light of the global and intergenerational dimensions of climate change, and of its ramifications that radically exacerbate the two other central issues of our times, namely the biodiversity crisis and the gap between the planet's south and north.
Rethinking our existing moral theories in light of climate change and building up new paradigms, frameworks, and conceptual tools to help us think about and deal with this phenomenon from an ethical perspective is a task that contemporary moral philosophy cannot escape. In this issue of Metodo, we would like to explore some of the paths that can lead to renewing the field of moral inquiry in the face of the challenge posed by climate change. In particular, we would like to gather contributions that explore some of the key concepts of ethical thought by rethinking them in the face of the issues posed by climate change.
We are also interested in exploring the potential of the phenomenological method to address the questions posed by environmental ethics, thus, on the one hand, the compatibility between the theory of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, the concept of empathy, intentional analysis, static and genetic methods, and, on the other hand, the revision of the concept of nature, moral imperatives applied to the biosphere, and the question of moral motivation directed toward the preservation of the environment. In particular, contributions are encouraged to explore the following concepts:
• Responsibility toward the non-personal sphere
• Scope of Justice
• Empathy toward nature
• Love as moral commitment
• Moral motivation toward environmental preservation
Abstracts and papers must be submitted to the following e-mail addresses:
metodo@sdvigpress.org
Submitted papers (in English, German, French, Spanish or Italian) must follow the basic principles of Metodo (http://metodo-rivista.eu/) and follow all Author Guidelines. The editorial board highly suggests all authors writing in a non-native language to have their texts proofread before submission. All contributions will undergo anonymous peer-review by two referees.