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LTT: Christine Heybl
February 18, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
A Kantian Approach to Climate Justice and the Reasons Why We do not Act
Christine Heybl
Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Abstract: In this lunchtime talk, I invite you to hear what Kant would have had to say about the great injustices of our age. Namely I will focus on climate change and how Kant would justify our actions to prevent it, and why is humanity worth preserving anyway? I am going to answer these questions by considering two further German philosophers, Robert Spaemann and Hans Jonas. Their works provide us with concise revelations about the human capacities of responsibility and morality. Connecting their theories with the philosophy of Immanuel Kant gives us an idea of what it means to live together in a truly just society. Kantian philosophy provides an answer for why we have the right to a just legislation and concurrently why we have a duty to participate in its construction. Contemporary philosophers from the United States followed and developed these conclusions. Henry Shue and Simon Caney both stress the need to defend and preserve our basic human rights. As climate warming threatens our human rights and the basic rights of future generations, we have the moral obligation to tackle this global problem. Additionally, I would like to explain a couple of fascinating aspects about humanity’s current relationship to climate change. These aspects are both shocking and plausible at the same time and explain why we are currently not taking enough action against climate warming. These aspects become obstacles, absorb our attention, distract us, petrify us and lead to apathy. The aspects include inter alia the interdisciplinary nature of climate change, its spatial and temporal properties, and human behavior toward uncertainty Conclusively and for a positive ending to my talk, I will propose six pathways that highlight how we could overcome the aforementioned obstacles and transform our relationship to climate change, fulfilling our Kantian ideals to build a just society for all.
Details
- Date:
- February 18, 2020
- Time:
-
11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
- Event Category:
- Lunchtime Talks