Behaviorally inadequate: a situationist critique of environmental virtues
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Behaviorally inadequate : a situationist critique of environmental virtues. / Kasperbauer, Tyler Joshua.
In: Environmental Ethics, Vol. 36, No. 4, 2014, p. 471-487.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Behaviorally inadequate
T2 - a situationist critique of environmental virtues
AU - Kasperbauer, Tyler Joshua
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - According to situationism in psychology, behavior is primarily influenced by external situational factors rather than internal traits or motivations such as virtues. Environmental ethicists wish to promote pro-environmental behaviors capable of providing adequate protection for the environment, but situationist critiques suggest that character traits, and environmental virtues, are not as behaviorally robust as is typically supposed. Their views present a dilemma. Because ethicists cannot rely on virtues to produce pro-environmental behaviors, the only real way of salvaging environmental virtue theory is to reject or at least minimize the requirement that environmental ethics must provide protection and assistance to the environment. Virtue theory is often favored by environmentalists precisely because it does matter what one's reasons are for acting, even if one's actions are ineffective at producing positive results. However, because endorsing behaviorally ineffective virtues, for whatever reason, entails that environmental ethicists are abandoning the goal of helping and protecting the environment, environmental ethicists should consider looking elsewhere than virtues and focus instead on the role of situations.
AB - According to situationism in psychology, behavior is primarily influenced by external situational factors rather than internal traits or motivations such as virtues. Environmental ethicists wish to promote pro-environmental behaviors capable of providing adequate protection for the environment, but situationist critiques suggest that character traits, and environmental virtues, are not as behaviorally robust as is typically supposed. Their views present a dilemma. Because ethicists cannot rely on virtues to produce pro-environmental behaviors, the only real way of salvaging environmental virtue theory is to reject or at least minimize the requirement that environmental ethics must provide protection and assistance to the environment. Virtue theory is often favored by environmentalists precisely because it does matter what one's reasons are for acting, even if one's actions are ineffective at producing positive results. However, because endorsing behaviorally ineffective virtues, for whatever reason, entails that environmental ethicists are abandoning the goal of helping and protecting the environment, environmental ethicists should consider looking elsewhere than virtues and focus instead on the role of situations.
U2 - 10.5840/enviroethics201436449
DO - 10.5840/enviroethics201436449
M3 - Journal article
VL - 36
SP - 471
EP - 487
JO - Environmental Ethics
JF - Environmental Ethics
SN - 0163-4275
IS - 4
ER -
ID: 146173613