Papers

The Effects of Morality on Acting against Climate Change

Pölzler, Thomas (2019): The Effects of Morality on Acting against Climate Change. In: Garner, Richard; Joyce, Richard (eds.): The End of Morality. New York: Routledge, 202-219.

Republished in Polish as Pölzler, Thomas (2020): Wpływ moralności na przeciwdziałanie zmianom klimatycznym. Edukacja Etyczna 17/2020, 17-41. Translation by Maciej Kałuża.

Abstract: Suppose you are a moral error theorist, i.e., you believe that no moral judgment is true. What, then, ought you to do with regard to our common practice of making such judgments? Determining the usefulness of our ordinary moral practice is exacerbated by the great number and variety of moral judgments. In-depth case studies may thus be more helpful in clarifying error theory’s practical implications than reflections about morality in general. In this chapter I pursue this strategy with regard to a particularly important matter, namely climate change. First, I establish general conditions for when a moral judgement has any effect on those who accept it. Second, I show that the judgement that individuals in industrialized countries are morally obliged to act against climate change does not fulfil these conditions, and is thus neither beneficial nor harmful. Finally, I sketch several strategies for increasing people’s non-moral motivation to act against climate change.