Ekososiaalinen hyve-etiikka

Abstract

In an era of eco-crises, ecosocial virtue ethics is needed in order to direct education towards an ecologically sustainable way of life. In the article, I formulate ecosocial virtue ethics, at the core of which are the relationships between living beings and good life. The eco-feminist core of ecosocial thinking is that the problems of the human social world, such as inequality, oppressive use of power, and emotionally cold and utilizing relationships, are repeated in our way of treating other living be-ings. The ecosocial virtue ethics is influenced by 1) ecosocial thinking and ecosocial Bildung, 2) envi-ronmental virtue ethics, and 3) ecofeminism. I also examine the exemplarist virtue ethics as a practi-cal way of educating on ecosocial virtues. I define ecosocial virtue ethics as an educationally interest-ing field of research in ethics, examining the life-promoting virtues that are needed in ecological-social contexts, such as sense of interdependence, caring, and practical common sense. Ecosocial vir-tues must be assessed in relation to the well-being of humans and other living beings. Learning virtues that focus on life on earth, offers us a perspective on solving eco-crises.