A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Climate Esoteric Morality and the Problem of Inconsequentialism
Authors: Voiron, Ilias; Puumala, Mikko M.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publishing place: CAMBRIDGE
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Utilitas
Journal name in source: Utilitas
Journal acronym: UTILITAS
First page : 1
Last page: 19
Number of pages: 19
ISSN: 0953-8208
eISSN: 1741-6183
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953820824000219
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1017/s0953820824000219
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/485082247
Climate change is to a large extent a collective action problem, but many believe that individual action is also required. But what if no individual contribution to climate change is necessary nor sufficient to cause climate change-induced harms? This issue is known as the problem of inconsequentialism. It is particularly problematic for act consequentialism because the theory does not seem to judge such inconsequential contributions negatively. In this paper, we apply Henry Sidgwick's idea of esoteric morality to climate change and assess whether what we call a climate esoteric morality could help to deal with the problem of inconsequentialism from an act consequentialist perspective. Consequentialists ought then to promote what we call nonconsequentialist faux principles; exaggerate existing consequentialist principles that pro tanto forbid contributing to climate change whenever strictly consequentialist principles fail to do so; and refrain from criticising nonconsequentialist principles that forbid contributing to climate change.
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