Ethics, Politics and the Climate Crisis

Nearly forty years have passed since NASA climate scientist James Hansen informed the U.S. Senate in 1988 of the threat posed by climate change. Since then, little progress has been made, many discussions have taken place, inadequate targets have been set and action has fallen significantly short of the stated goals. Philosopher Philip Kitcher traces the dismal pace of climate action to the withdrawal of ethics from politics. He states that because of our inability to make firm predictions about the consequences of global heating, the problem of deciding what to do is exacerbated.  

In this annual GRIPh Lecture, Kitcher explains that in a world where nations dismantle protections for the poor in the name of economic efficiency, it is entirely reasonable for many people to resist programs that would impose further burdens on them. The replacement of economic policies constructed to achieve ethical goals by others emphasizing competition undermines the cooperation needed to meet the challenges of an overheated planet.

Philip Kitcher is the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Columbia University, and an Honorary Fellow of Christ’s College Cambridge. His philosophical work ranges from the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology to ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of education and philosophy in literature and music. His books include The Advancement of Science; Science, Truth and Democracy; The Ethical Project; The Main Enterprise of the World: Rethinking Education; and What’s the Use of Philosophy?. The Rich and the Poor will be published in the spring of 2025. 

The GRIPh Lecture is the annual lecture of the Groningen Institute of Philosophy. This lecture is organised by the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Groningen, in cooperation with Studium Generale Groningen.