The scope and demandingness of ethics
Which things, in this vast universe, matter? Which have interests or moral rights that give rise to moral obligations? Rocks don't, but you do. Many believe that all human persons matter, regardless of their distance from us. But what about nonhuman animals? Extra-terrestrials? Future people? These are questions about the scope of ethics, and they are bound up with questions about how personally demanding it is to live ethically. The wider the ethical circle is, the more obligations we have to satisfy and balance; perhaps a wider ethical circle means a less privileged place within it for ourselves.
Through popular writing, public events and online materials, members of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs are influencing beliefs and behaviours beyond academia on matters concerning the scope and demandingness of ethics, particularly in the contexts of space exploration and effective charitable giving. Ben Sachs' and Tim Mulgan's research on the scope of ethics (for example, on our obligations to animals, extra-terrestrials and future people) has supported the following activities:
- a popular Edinburgh Science Festival event on extra-terrestrials
- an exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition
- an article for The Conversation on the ethics of space exploration and another on the search for extra-terrestrial life
- a public debate at the London School of Economics that was subsequently podcasted.
Theron Pummer’s and Elizabeth Ashford’s research on the demandingness of ethics (for example, on our obligations to distant needy persons, as well as on effective altruism and rights) have supported the following impact activities:
- a piece for The Conversation
- an online database for teaching effective giving in collaboration with NGOs
- a video interview.
