Progress Review: 'The Moral Revolution: custodianship as a way of life" - Paige Maguire

The Moral Revolution: custodianship as a way of life, promotes relationalism as a replacement for current Western-style neo-liberalism. Plumwood argues that liberalism leads to oppressive dualisms, hierarchy and instrumentalisation. I argue that we must move away from axial ethics and consider an approach to our obligations that does not rely on the exclusion of a designated ‘Other’. To this end, I consider the practical application of relational obligations found in Aboriginal land ethics. Moreover, due to the worsening climate crisis, I suggest ways of hastening the moral shift required. The focus of the presentation will be on discounting axial ethics. This will involve an overview of modern environmental theorist and how they approach Sylvan’s question: “Are we in need of a new environmental ethic?”