The Map of Moral Significance: A New Axiological Matrix for Environmental Ethics

TLDR

The demarcation problem in environmental ethics asks which entities belong to the moral community and possess intrinsic value, yet Kantian deontology struggles to account for relational complexity and collective moral significance. The paper proposes an alternative axiological matrix, the map of moral significance, to address the demarcation problem by integrating intrinsic and relational values within a relational ontology. The authors construct a matrix with intrinsic and relational values as orthogonal axes, embedding the demarcation question within this relational ontology.

Abstract

One main issue within environmental ethics is the so-called Demarcation Problem, i.e. the question of which entities are members of the moral community and hold intrinsic value. I argue that the demarcation problem relies mainly on Kantian moral philosophy. While the Kantian framework offers a strong and immediately deontological argument for moral agents holding inherent moral values, it presents problems when stretched beyond its original scope and lacks an adequate ground for addressing relational complexity and the moral significance of collectives. In this paper I outline an alternative axiological framework (‘map of moral significance') that relies on a relational ontology and encompasses intrinsic and relational values as the two equipollent axes of a matrix in which to embed the question posited by the Demarcation Problem.