Green anthropocentrism: Delineating a new position and how it is enabled by Nussbaum’s capabilities approach

Abstract

This article aims to delineate a particular position within environmental ethics: Green anthropocentrism (GA). GA holds that while humans are the source of value, the natural world carries constitutive rather than merely instrumental value. The aim is to define a way to value nature that remains anthropocentric insofar as the term implies that humans are the source of value, but that does not diminish the value of the natural world in a way that is as reductive or exploitative as other versions of anthropocentrism have been found to be. Instead, it maintains that we cannot be fully human without being properly disposed toward the natural world and that showing respect, awe and concern – among other things – for and towards nature is part of constituting who we are on a fundamental level as humans. The article further explores how Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach (NCA) offers a framework that can successfully enable a way of living for people in alignment with this position. While NCA emphasises creating conditions for human flourishing rather than prescribing specific functionings, it includes the other species capability, which underscores the importance of being able to live in relation to nature. This suggests that NCA can support GA’s principles by mandating that governments enable meaningful human-nature connections in an ethical and policy framework that still respects individual autonomy. Ultimately, this article argues for a form of anthropocentrism that acknowledges the essential role that living in relation to nature plays in human identity and flourishing.