Speaker: Anders Melin
In person at Niagara C0826 and on Zoom (link).
Abstract: Originally, environmental ethics, understood here as the philosophical discipline that concerns the moral relationship between human beings and non-human aspects of the environment, as well as the value of the non-human aspects of the environment, was mostly concerned with wilderness and the preservation of “pristine” nature. In an article from 2001, Light argues that there is a an “urban blind spot in environmental ethics” due to the fact that many environmental ethicists have a preference for wilderness and regard environments created by humans as being of limited value. Partly as a response to Light’s article, some studies of the moral relationship to urban animals and plants have been published, but it remains a relatively unexplored area. In this presentation, I discuss how a feminist care perspective can contribute to environmental ethics. It is an interesting alternative to more traditional, “masculinist” approaches to ethics, as it emphasizes concrete relationships and the role of emotions in moral conduct and decision-making.
This seminar is part of the IUR Brown Bag Seminar Series. Bring your lunch! If you have any questions, please contact Defne Kadioglu and Julie Goodrich.