Theological Ethics of Hope and Moral Power - Essay Example

Theological Ethics of Hope and Moral Power This paper aims to explore what would be required for a person in my particular life circumstances to become a moral agent in the face of climate change. For this purpose, I will present a plan for moral agency in the face of climate change for the next 5-10 years of my life. Much has been written about the subject of climate change in recent years. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have dramatically increased. Any variation in weather conditions is called a climate change particularly when that change lasts for a really long time from decades to millions of years. Many human activities are responsible for causing these climate changes which raises questions about moral agency of human beings. There is much evidence currently available which suggests that the climate system is exposed to excessive warming. Rapid industrialization and urbanization has drastically modified the climate system of the earth in a negative sense. These climate changes are considered unprecedented and have been caused by human activities like release of poisonous gases in the air. In order to become a moral agent in the face of climate change, it is important for every person to develop a newfound respect for environmental sustainability. This can be a very positive change for a person like me doing major in marketing because before long, focus in the field of marketing used to be concentrated only on creating beneficial relationships with consumers, but environmental awareness stresses on building a relationship with the climate also. Currently, there is a looming prospect of unsustainable environmental future because many young professionals have no idea what sustainability really is and how environment or climate can be made sustainable. In my plan for moral agency in the face of climate change in the nest 5-10 years of my life, I would really like to incorporate the concept of neighbor-love. I am here talking about the kind of neighbor-love that goes beyond human parts of God’s creation as suggested by Moe-Lobeda in chapter 9. The scope of Moe-Lobeda’s version of neighbor-love is really wide because it encompasses both human and non-human parts. I aim to base my plan on this version of neighbor-love because it will better enable me to become a good moral agent. A scope of neighbor-love that includes both humans and non-humans makes for a principal component of a moral plan. Now, I will like to explain how neighbor-love can help in becoming a moral agent in the face of climate change. According to Moe-Lobeda, we have become so materialistic over the course of past many years that many among us have fallen prey to an economic system and economic policies which flourish by depriving others. For example, it is not uncommon for a businessman to destroy a poor woman’s source of income by building a large hotel over her place of residence. It is not uncommon for us to enjoy the beach view from that hotel without thinking about how many have become impoverished in the course. This kind of economic system hurts many either knowingly or inadvertently. We have become so hungry in material terms that our excessive consumption is negatively influencing earth’s natural capacities. We can serve God by way of neighbor-love which extends beyond humans. Rather, we are destroying that relationship by destroying earth’s capacities and resources. Our relationship to this planet is very unfortunate and in order to become a moral agent in the face of climate change, it is exceedingly important to raise awareness about this relationship. As mentioned above, our economy is of the kind which is not only devastating earth but also harming our relationship to God. This is why my plan of moral agency calls for constructing a moral economy. First, it is important to have a moral vision for that purpose. A moral vision tells us the difference between right and wrong which is why it forms the bedrock of my plan to become a moral agent. A moral vision is the right thing to start with because it will greatly help me in serving God’s creativity. Moe-Lobeda stresses indefinitely on the importance of building a moral vision in every field of life. It is the vision of the good we hold which helps us identify who is suffering from our actions and what can be done to rectify the damage. This is one of the major arenas of change where action should be taken. The path from vision to action should be remembered in this regard which is about honestly observing all constituent principles of that vision. In order to amass significant achievements in this arena, I aim to start with a moral vision and then gradually move through all of its major principles. I will set goals to observe those principles. Daily life activities should not be undermined in this regard because they are actually very valuable and can help a lot in realizing principles of a moral vision. This means that we have to be first moral in our personal lives to be able to contribute something on a professional level or to change economic policies. Moral issues are commonly encountered by a person in daily life and dealing with them can be a very confusing task. The utilitarian approach is worth mentioning here because I find it to be the most beneficial. This approach advocates a very systematic way to deal with moral issues. First, different options are identified. Then, it is assessed who will derive most benefit and most harm from each option. Finally, that action is chosen which offers most benefit and least harm. I found that moral action offers most value. Two very important forms of action which I intend to include in my plan are related to raising educational awareness and lifestyle changes. Raising awareness is a process which should begin from childhood because children have highly impressionable minds and they keep in mind what they are taught at a very young age. This is why educational awareness should begin from childhood about how we can act as moral agents in the face of climate change. Global warming and negative climate change patterns can be controlled to a great extent if all people act as moral agents in accordance with a moral vision. Awareness about global warming and climate change can help us defy the current form of market economy. This is because it will enable us to realize how the present market economy prohibits us from enacting neighbor-love. As a part of my plan, I intend to raise awareness about championing neighbor-love and quitting the act of impoverishing others to advance personal benefits. I will act as a moral agent in the face of climate change by admitting that I am God’s messenger to spread neighbor-love. As a conscientious moral agent, it is my plan to preserve earth’s life-generating goodness which is being destroyed by selfish human activities and bad economic policies. I will base my relative wealth not upon destroying others, but upon controlled material consumption and other lifestyle changes. The damage we are doing to earth affects non-human parts of God’s creation more than it hurts us humans. This is how we are uncreating earth’s life-generating goodness and I intend to change that with my plan as a moral agent. Works cited: Read More