Research areas

TEERC researchers have specialized in a wide spectrum of areas and questions in environmental ethics. In addition to working with traditional environmental ethical theories and central environmental ethical problems, the research can be characterised as practical and applied. Currently, there are 11 researchers in TEERC and their research can be divided into four thematic areas: environmental crises and responding to them; animal philosophy; sustainable society; and new technologies and outer space.

Environmental crises and responding to them

Of all the environmental crises threatening the safety, stability, and integrity of the planet, climate change is likely to be the most severe, wide-ranging, and complex. Our researchers have focused on climate ethical issues like individuals’ climate responsibilities and their moral demandingness, and the ethics of steering environmental behaviour, for example by utilising climate nudges. Moreover, the research has spanned topics such as biodiversity loss, justification of environmental wars, and challenges in food production.

Animal Philosophy

Human practices like animal industry, hunting, and the destruction of invasive species have detrimental effects to the wellbeing of non-human animals. The field of animal ethics studies the moral status and rights of non-human animals, and human-animal relationships. In this field, our researchers have focused particularly on the emotions, attitudes, and language concerning animals, the ethics of wildlife animal suffering, and ethical extensionism, that is, the extension of moral theories and principles to non-human animals.

Sustainable society

A good society provides its members safety, wellbeing, and justice. But it should also consider the environment people live in. Otherwise, it will not be sustainable. Related to sustainability, our researchers have examined issues like planetary boundaries, intergenerational ethics, environmental education and human-nature relationship, environmental impact of healthcare systems, and textile ethics in the context of fast fashion and consumption. In the field of philosophy of sustainability, they have studied the conceptual dimensions of sustainability: for instance, what do we mean when we say that something is sustainable?

New technologies and outer space

The technological capabilities of our species are growing at an increasing pace. Technology seems to promise some solutions to environmental problems, but it may also create new environmental ethical concerns. Relating to these problems and solutions, our researchers have focused on issues like de-extinction, the ethics of genetically modified food, and the concept of naturalness, as well as issues in the new field of space ethics, exploring the ethics of human space activities and environmental protection in outer space.