Slavoj Zizek, Peter Singer, Nancy Sherman
From the time of Socrates we have seen morality as driven by human desires and goals. But many now argue that this human focus is misguided and leaves the natural world in peril. By prioritising human well-being they contend, we have ransacked the earth, eradicated and misused other species, and taken insufficient care of our home, the Earth. We are even planning to do the same to other nearby planets. It is not sufficient for us to protect nature for our benefit, instead they argue nature needs to be preserved for its own sake.
Do we need to re-think morality to find a new framework that no longer places humans at the centre? If so, how are we to assess the well-being of nature independently of our human perspective? Or is the notion that we can escape human goals and desires itself deluded, risking a return to an age where humans are sacrificed to the gods of the natural world?
Firebrand philosopher Slavoj Žižek, renowned ethicist Peter Singer, and Georgetown professor of philosophy Nancy Sherman, question human centred morality.