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Article ID: CBB384460195

Looking through the microscope: Microbes as a challenge for theorising biocentrism within environmental ethics (2022)

Anna Wienhues (Author)

Endeavour: Review of the Progress of Science
Volume: 46
Issue: 1
Pages: 100819

URI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160932722000199

DOI: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2022.100819

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Biocentrism Multispecies studies; interspecies studies Philosophy of science Environmental ethics Science and ethics Microbiome; microbiota 21st century 20th century, late

While in the humanities and social sciences at large we can observe posthumanist developments that engage with the microbiome, microbes are still not a major topic of discussion within environmental ethics. That the environmental ethics literature has not engaged extensively with this topic is surprising considering the range of theoretical challenges (and opportunities) it poses for environmental theorising. So, this paper is ‘looking through the microscope’ from an environmental ethics angle in order to see how these little beings challenge what we consider to be ethically relevant and how we conduct moral theorising. Especially interesting is how a focus on microbes can simultaneously support and challenge individualist biocentric intuitions and theories, which attribute moral standing to (some) microbes. Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to lay out crucial aspects of these challenges and present some initial arguments about why not all of them pose a serious threat to biocentric theorising—including biocentric theories of interspecies justice. The three challenges discussed are (1) the moral significance challenge, (2) the self-defence predicament, and (3) undermining individualist biocentric intuitions.

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Article Davina Höll; Leonie N. Bossert (2022) Introducing the microbiome: Interdisciplinary perspectives. Endeavour: Review of the Progress of Science (p. 100817). unapi

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