Global ethics and the Earth Charter

Author(s):  
Nigel Dower
2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ronald Engel

AbstractThere is increasing conviction that to enjoy and promote the mutual fl ourishing of human life in mutual relationship to the fl ourishing of all life on Earth is the ultimate meaning of human history. Yet the contemporary human condition is one of profound alienation from that meaning. The metaphor and model of a new global covenant, a new covenant with Earth, provides the most constructive and practical way individuals and communities can respond to this spiritual situation, and inspires e ff orts such as the Earth Charter, and draft International Covenant on Environment and Development, to articulate a new global ethic. The new model of Earth covenant has emerged over a long course of history from interactions between Earth-affirming religious sensibilities, evolutionary/ecological understandings, and democratic ideals. Although it is still very much in the making, and requires much wider global dialogue, we can extrapolate ten major normative themes central to the new covenantal vision.


2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Dower

AbstractIn what sense(s) is the Earth Charter a global ethic? The Earth Charter is a global ethic as a set of values and norms which can be supported from many worldviews rather than as a "set of values and norms plus a particular worldview"; and the Earth Charter is also a global ethic as an ethic which is widely shared across the world rather than as one which is universally shared by all. What kinds of resistance does promoting the Earth Charter meet? A number of intellectual positions are addressed, such as realism in international relations and the neoliberal paradigm. The Earth Charter thus raises many issues in global ethics as an intellectual enquiry, particularly if it is thought of as a tool to be used in the spirit of critical loyalty.


2002 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 77-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Blaze Corcoran

As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning…. This requires a change of mind and heart. It requires a new sense of global interdependence and universal responsibility. We must imaginatively develop and apply the vision of a sustainable way of life locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. Our cultural diversity is a precious heritage and different cultures will find their own distinctive ways to realize the vision. We must deepen and expand the global dialogue that generated the Earth Charter, for we have much to learn from the ongoing collaborative search for truth and wisdom (The Earth Charter, The Way Forward).Such advancement of high-minded values, such changes of mind and heart, and such senses of interdependence and responsibility across culture can only be achieved through education. Realising culturally rooted visions of sustainability and searching for cross-cultural collaboration is, inherently, a process of education. The Earth Charter Initiative has said from the beginning that the Earth Charter is an educational resource of significant value.The art and science of teaching about, from, with, and for the Earth Charter offers a promising pedagogy for exploring such shared values and global ethics. Many of the problems we face are ethical problems. Therefore, the solutions must be solutions to which ethics point.


2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-140
Author(s):  
Prue Taylor

AbstractThis article examines the relevance of the Earth Charter to ethical debate on biotechnology. It uses the New Zealand Bioethics Council as a case study to demonstrate the positive contributions that the Charter could make to a nation's efforts to articulate ethical principles. It begins by examining the general tasks of the Council and demonstrates that the Charter is primarily useful as a fundamental source document and a critical tool for stimulating ethical dialogue. But its articulation of universal responsibility, together with its inspirational and educational nature, are also of significance. Moving from the general to the particular, the article applies one of the Charter's principles, "respect for all life", to the particular issue of transgenic animals. It is argued that this principle could help to fundamentally reframe debate on this issue.


10.1144/sp508 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 508 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
G. Di Capua ◽  
P. T. Bobrowsky ◽  
S. W. Kieffer ◽  
C. Palinkas

This is the second volume focused on geoethics published by the Geological Society of London. This is a significant step forward in which authors address the maturation of geoethics. The field of geoethics is now ready to be introduced outside the geoscience community as a logical platform for global ethics that addresses anthropogenic changes. Geoethics has a distinction in the geoscientific community for discussing ethical, social and cultural implications of geoscience knowledge, research, practice, education and communication. This provides a common ground for confronting ideas, experiences and proposals on how geosciences can supply additional service to society in order to improve the way humans interact responsibly with the Earth system. This book provides new messages to geoscientists, social scientists, intellectuals, law- and decision-makers, and laypeople. Motivations and actions for facing global anthropogenic changes and their intense impacts on the planet need to be governed by an ethical framework capable of merging a solid conceptual structure with pragmatic approaches based on geoscientific knowledge. This philosophy defines geoethics.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-335
Author(s):  
Jeffrey newman
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
pp. 199-202
Author(s):  
William Scott ◽  
Paul Vare
Keyword(s):  

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