Metaphorical and Literal Groundings: Unsettling Groundless Normativity in Environmental Ethics
Loading...
Date
2020-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Philosophy Documentation Center
Abstract
Accounts of grounded normativity in Indigenous philosophy can be used to challenge the groundlessness of Western environmental ethical approaches such as Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. Attempts to ground normativity in mainstream Western ethical theory deploy a metaphorical grounding that covers up the literal grounded normativity of Indigenous philosophical practices. Furthermore, Leopold’s land ethic functions as a form of settler philosophical guardianship that works to erase, assimilate, and effectively silence localized Indigenous knowledges through a delocalized ethical standard. Finally, grounded normativity challenges settlers to question their desire for groundless normative theory and practice as reflective of their evasion of ethical responsibility for the destruction and genocide of Indigenous communities.
Description
Cook, A., & Sheehey, B. (2020). Metaphorical and Literal Groundings: Unsettling Groundless Normativity in Environmental Ethics. Environmental Ethics, 42(4), 335-352.
Keywords
metaphorical literal grounding, normativity, environmental ethics
Citation
Cook, A., & Sheehey, B. (2020). Metaphorical and Literal Groundings: Unsettling Groundless Normativity in Environmental Ethics. Environmental Ethics, 42(4), 335-352.