“This year, many thousands of people will die as a consequence of malaria moving to higher altitudes, a shift made possible by warmer temperatures. Do we bear any moral responsibility for their deaths?” writes philosophy professor William Edelglass in Facing Nature: Levinas and Environmental Thought. Edited by Edelglass, James Hatley & Christian Diehm, Facing Nature brings contemporary continental philosophy to bear on a range of environmental issues, from climate change to environmental justice.
In his chapter “Rethinking Responsibility in an Age of Anthropogenic Climate Catastrophe,” William draws on Emmanuel Levinas’ account of ethical subjectivity. He argues that as individuals we are morally responsible for the human and environmental costs of climate change. Like other authors in Facing Nature, William brings the best of continental philosophy to bear on major issues in environmental thought.
