The Oxford Handbook of Intergenerational Ethics

Abstract

Abstract The philosopher John Rawls once said that “the question of justice between generations … subjects any ethical theory to severe if not impossible tests.” This handbook aims to illuminate those tests, indicate the theoretical progress made in resolving them, and take some steps of its own. It features philosophers and political theorists of international standing, and it emphasizes the increasing relevance of intergenerational questions to key challenges of the 21st century. Part A considers intergenerational ethics from the point of view of leading contemporary theories and diverse cultural traditions. Topics include consequentialism, deontology, the ethics of care, contractualism, communitarianism, Indigenous perspectives on ancestry, capabilities, republicanism, Buen Vivir, nonanthropocentrism, Confucianism, Maori philosophy, and African intergenerational ethics. Part B reflects on key concepts that structure discussion of intergenerational issues, such as sustainability, natural heritage, well-being, basic needs, meaning, and the threat of intergenerational tyranny. Part C addresses central issues that arise in intergenerational ethics, ranging from key philosophical problems, to how to understand political ideals, to questions about the limits of appropriate concern. These chapters explore areas such as intergenerational saving, discounting in economics, duties to the past, the non-identity problem, the repugnant conclusion, discursive justice, intergenerational institutions, and whether to make threatening human extinction an international crime. Part D samples topics that have special importance in intergenerational affairs, such as pensions, inheritance, reparations, intergenerational debt, nuclear weapons, human population size, species conservation, and the genetic enhancement of humans.

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