What a time to be alive: an aretaic exploration of procreative decisions in the climate crisis

Abstract

When considering undertaking morally-significant acts, we incur investigative responsibilities to explore their ethical dimensions thoroughly beforehand. An investigation of the ethical dimensions of procreation, specifically procreative parenting in the context of the climate crisis, reveals a highly uncertain decision-making scenario involving potentially severe harm. How to respond? I argue that answering the question in virtue ethical terms can get us further than other approaches to normative ethics. The conclusion – that a virtuous agent is under extreme pressure to forgo procreating, though the possibility is still remotely available – lacks finality. Yet it is befitting of the complexity of the specific decision-making scenario, and of the difficulty of morality in general.