The goal of Deep Social Ecology is to create a form of ecospheric ethics that removes the possibility of interference from more anthropocentric forms of so-called green ethics. To do that, we need to look at Patrick Curry’s book, ‘Ecological Ethics’ which lays out and categorizes ecological ethical forms into Light Green, Mid Green, and Deep Green Ethics.
However, it must also be noted, that Ecospheric ethics transcends all of these categories and creates something completely new. Even the title of this series, ‘Deep Social Ecology’ is a misnomer for what I hope will eventually be an ethical system under the Ecospheric umbrella. But let’s get back to the ethics!
Arne Naess categorized ethics as shallow vs deep. Shallow ethics are those that are not ecological or that wear an ecological veneer. Deep ecological ethics were those like his own system, ‘Deep Ecology’ which recognizes that all life has intrinsic value and that our ethics need to operate with this in mind.
Patrick Curry takes a different approach and categorizes ethical systems into three categories; light, mid, and dark green. Light ethics are those that are anthropocentric by default. Mid-Green Ethics are on their way to being ecological, but like Naess’ shallow ethics, they may be flawed or even reinforce anthropocentrism. Finally, Dark green ethics are considered true ecological ethics. This is where we want to ideally draw from when developing Ecospheric ethics. Let’s take a look at each of these in-depth below:
Light (Anthropocentric) Ethics:
‘The industrialist and the environmentalist are brothers under the skin; they differ merely as to the best use the natural world ought to be put to.’ (Evernden;1985)
- Non-humans are categorized via their use value or lack thereof. Use value dictates whether a species survives via exploitation or is decimated/pushed to extinction because of its perceived lack of value to human beings.
- May promote: Dominion Thesis, Conservation, or Environmentalism, Environmental Engineering, Lifeboat Ethics, Hardin’s ‘Tragedy of the Commons’, Cartesianism, Scientific Experimentation, Anthropolarity, GMOs, Pesticides, etc.
- May use terms such as: Green, Recycle, Conserve, Ecosystem Services, Ecological Costing, Resources, Management, Green Party, Environmental NGO, etc.
Mid-Green Ethics:
‘What would it mean to build artificial intelligences and other machines that were more like octopuses, more like fungi, or more like forests?’ ― James Bridle
- Greater Value Assumption dictates that some non-human species may have intrinsic value, but wherever this conflicts with human beings, human beings (and their lifestyles) will always take precedence.
- May promote: Wilderness preservation, Mining, Deep Sea Drilling, Species Tokenism, Extensionism (some individual non-humans may be granted honorary human status), Speciesism, Sentient Chauvinism, Veganism, Vegetarianism, Plastic-free Lifestyle, Recycling, Legal rights for individual non-humans, rivers, Cartesianism (with a moral veneer), Anthropolarity, Farmed Fish (fed wild fish), Alternative Protein Sources (Lab-Grown Meat, Insects, etc.), A.I., Technological ‘Solutions’, Wildlife Corridors, Spirituality based in Mechanistic Thought (while condemning mechanistic thought), Systems Theory, Ethical Capitalism, Technology embedded ‘natural’ world, etc.
- May use terms such as: Systems, Loops, Intelligence, Living Systems, Morals, Systems Thinking, Western Science, Networks, Economic Growth, Management, Altruism, Paradigm Shift, Unifying, Vision, Unity, Processes, Interacting Parts, Solarpunk, etc.
Dark Green Ethics:
‘[I]t’ is impossible to find a clear demarcation between oneself and one’s environment… The world is, indeed, one’s extended body.’ – Callicott
- Holistic, non-anthropocentric, support of all species; human and non-human. A recognition that non-human species have independent moral status and that all species deserve protection.
- May promote: Ecocentric Ethics, Land Ethics, Encouraging Native Species, Localism, Bioregionalism, Biocentric Egalitarianism, Deep Ecology, Transpersonal Ecology, Queer Ecology, Gaia Theory, Left Biocentrism, Anti-capitalism etc.
- May use terms such as: Multidimensional, Kinship, Symbiosis, Perception, Ki/Kin, Kir, Third Nature, Climate Collapse, Communalism, Libertarian Municipalism, Democratic Confederalism, Degrowth, Anti-Capitalism, Anarchism, Nature Protecting Itself, Dialectical Naturalism, Spiritual Mechanism, etc.
Ecospheric ethics moves a step further than Curry’s dark green ethics. Where Bookchin talks of third nature’s possibility, ecospheric ethics, talks of its reality.
Sources:
- ‘Thinking Ecologically: A Dialectical Approach’ Murray Bookchin
- ‘Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence’ James Bridle
- ‘Ecological Ethics’ Patrick Curry
- Julie Hawkins, 2024, “Green Eco-Chaplains Manual: Level I”, Forest Star Academy, (2022).