Ethics of Climate Change: Adopting an Empircal Approach to Moral Concern presented at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress, Society for the Study of Practical Ethics Conference in Vancouver, BC, June 1-3, 2008

Abstract

This paper is about the problems ethical deliberation and theorizing encounter when faced with the type of complexity that climate change scenarios present us. In the first part of the paper, I examine the problem of complexity as it undermines our ability to utilize justificatory frameworks to prescribe courses of action. In the second, I attempt to sketch an approach to ethical deliberation that better handles the complex concerns that arise in such situation. Given the nature of the paper, the position I take is more programmatic than substantive.