Justice and the Natural World: What Do We CARE?

Abstract

The current study employed a novel approach to understanding the intricate relationship between humans and the natural environment. Cognitive and affective responses to adverse events involving humans, other living things, and natural and human-made objects were quantified with a newly developed measure—the cognitive-affective-response-evaluation (CARE). Results indicated a response bias toward human-related events: Participants were more upset and thought that events were more unjustified when they involved humans, rather than animals and the natural environment. This tendency was stronger for emotional reactions than for cognitive justifications, suggesting that emotions play a key role in dissociating social from natural entities and contributing to anthropocentrism. The results also indicated that events caused by anthropogenic forces are more upsetting and more difficult to justify than events caused by natural forces. Key Words: Environmental concern—Anthropocentric bias—Nature—Justice—Morality.