Anthropogenic moral fallacies paralyze action against climate change. Why rethinking is necessary

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Philosophy - Practical (Ethics, Aesthetics, Culture, Nature, Right, ...), grade: 1,00, University of Salzburg, course: Seminar, language: English, abstract: In the present paper, I show how inaction against the climate change problem can be traced to moral fallacies, for they distract us from assuming moral duties and responsibilities and hinder us to take action. It is not sufficient to ask for the obviously apparent reasons for natural catastrophes and all the other negative effects climate change entails, i.e. greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, we have to think a step further and ask for the causes of our pollutive behavior, which are, as claimed in the paper, based on false assumptions about (inter alia) intergenerational justice and the value of progress in our modern consumer society. Thus, becoming able to act requires a rethinking in our morality. To overcome the here discussed two moral fallacies, i.e. the non-identity problem and the overestimation of progress, would mean a large step towards saving the planet and providing our successors with living conditions that are at least of the same quality as ours.