Intergenerational Responsibility Research Articles

Re-enchanting the World: Pope Francis’s Critique of the “Technocratic Paradigm” in Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum

The first part of this article offers a systemic comparison of Pope Francis’s “integral ecology” with the “technocratic paradigm.” The second part is devoted to an internal critique of the paradigm: (i) the primacy accorded instrumental causality in a “disenchanted world,” (ii) the technical reduction of prudence, and (iii) the consequent fragmentation of ethical systems. The critique supports key aspects of Francis’s ecological ethics: the option for the poor, intergenerational responsibility, and recognition of the intrinsic value of nonhuman nature. The third part shows how such an internal critique underwrites the uses of religious rhetoric in public reasoning: the re-enchantment of the world.

Education Beyond Green Growth

Despite the continued popularity of education for sustainable development (ESD) and expanded calls for educators to inspire hope in the face of the climate and nature emergency, scholars from varied disciplines and knowledge systems have pointed to the disavowed social and ecological costs of the promise that we can continue pursuing infinite economic growth on a finite planet. In this article, we offer an alternative approach to education grounded in a regenerative inquiry methodology. Regenerative inquiry can prepare people to honestly confront the limits and harms of “green growth” and support them to “grow up” by expanding their capacity to navigate complexity and uncertainty and activating a sense of intergenerational responsibility. We also offer an example of how this methodology was mobilized in the context of a year-long transdisciplinary program focused on the climate and nature emergency.

The case for longtermism: concern for the far future as a catalyst for pro-climate action

Amid escalating climate challenges, we examine relationships between longtermism beliefs with policy-level and grassroots climate-protective attitudes and actions. Across four primary pre-registered studies (N = 4451) and two supplementary pilots (N = 1858), we find that a significant portion, approximately 25% of our participants, who endorse the longtermism ethical philosophy, report heightened climate change concerns. Furthermore, longtermists show stronger support for pro-climate policies, advocate for initiatives in line with climate justice for future generations and present-day minoritized groups and make proactive contributions to environmental causes and initiatives. Moreover, we find that responsibility to distant future generations drives these associations. Through a targeted intervention, we boosted intergenerational responsibility and increased donations to an environmental charity. These findings highlight how longtermism beliefs shape pro-environmental attitudes and actions, offering valuable insights for climate advocacy strategies and cultivating more widespread support for comprehensive environmental policies.

A World Fit for the Next Seven Generations: Upholding Indigenous Rights for the Foundation of a Sustainable Future

Using the ‘Next Seven Generations’ as a conceptual framework, this article highlights Indigenous perspectives on sustainability and intergenerational responsibility in response to the A World Fit for Children declaration report. Through an analysis of Indigenous children's rights, the article emphasizes the importance of recognizing Indigenous land sovereignty in fostering a sustainable future for all children. Additionally, the disparate impacts of climate change on Indigenous children, lands, and resources will be explored with proposed mitigation strategies. The authors argue that upholding Indigenous rights can lead to improved outcomes in protecting the earth for children and stress the benefits of a rights-informed approach. Challenges and opportunities in implementing recommendations from child rights frameworks are explored, advocating for collaboration between Indigenous communities and stakeholders. In conclusion, sustained efforts are urged to create a world fit for the next seven generations of children by adopting a rights-informed approach to environmental protection. Keywords: Indigenous Childhoods, Children’s Rights, Environmental Protection, Sustainability

A Blue Water Scarcity‐Based Method for Hydrologically Sustainable Agricultural Expansion Design

AbstractSustainable development and intergenerational responsibility entail the prudent use of natural resources. Water availability can constrain agriculture, a key sector in terms of resources consumed and goods and services provided. The sustainability of its intensification and expansion has been studied, often with a particular focus on water. Agricultural strategies have been based on local water availability, and some downstream effects have been evaluated. However, a method to identify and quantify hydrologically sustainable land use and crop use changes directly accounting for downstream effects is yet to be defined. We propose a framework to design land‐use and crop‐use changes preventing local and downstream effects. We apply it on of coffee plantations expansion in Kenya, a sector that is growing and planned to grow, given its agricultural, economic and social development potential, not without risks associated to hydroclimatic change. We use crop‐ and land‐use specific hydrological modeling to simulate water scarcity impacts of coffee plantation expansion onto available suitable areas, and use the results to iteratively identify and filter out expansion areas increasing water scarcity locally or downstream. This assessment proves effective in preserving water availability, identifying 10% of the suitable and available areas as hydrologically sustainable. Total water footprints are similar in these expansion areas and in currently used areas, but expansion areas have higher precipitation‐generated water availability. The proposed methodology locates and quantifies areas in a physically robust way, maintaining flexibility to the selected expansion scenario. Thus, the methodology is replicable for planning hydrologically agricultural development.

The role of culture in the social integration of Vietnamese refugees in the United States (1975-2000): An oral history analysis

Culture plays an important role in shaping the perceptions, beliefs, and experiences of refugees as they navigate decisions and actions in a new society. Based on an analysis of 88 oral history interviews conducted by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF) with Vietnamese refugees in the US after the war, this paper examines the relationship between culture and social integration, particularly the cultural values that Vietnamese refugees have chosen and promoted to help them adapt quickly and successfully in the new society. Using a thematic analysis method, cultural values such as self-effort, a studious tradition, sacrifice, and intergenerational responsibility help Vietnamese refugees improve their socio-economic status after a period of settlement in the U.S. The stories specifically illustrate how Vietnamese people have applied cultural values to social integration strategies, establishing connections between culture and economic opportunities within the socio-economic conditions of the United States.

Intergenerational Justice as a Lever to Impact Climate Policies: Lessons from the Complainants’ Perspective on Germany’s 2021 Climate Constitutional Ruling

AbstractClimate litigation based on the constitutional rights of future generations is an emerging and promising approach to enforcing long-term policies based on intergenerational and climate justice. In Germany, a high-profile constitutional judgment triggered by climate activists ruled that the German climate policy infringes future freedom rights. Based on an assessment of legal opportunity structures and interviews with key actors, this research finds that the complainants utilised the opportunity to facilitate a strong public perception of intergenerational injustice set by the Fridays for Future movement. While the court’s response in the form of the intertemporal effect doctrine is ambiguous and does not constitute clear fundamental rights of future generations, the complainants reached their strategic goal to directly influence policymakers and draw public attention to the issue of climate protection as an intergenerational responsibility. An interplay of four different legal arguments and numerous actors associated with the climate movement was crucial to triggering this outcome. These findings from a sociolegal bottom-up perspective are of great relevance as they show that impactful climate litigation through intergenerational principles relies on the strategic utilisation of the cultural context beyond the legal sphere.

Intergenerational externalities and corporate green innovation

AbstractBased on the intergenerational externalities views, this paper builds the link between ecological damage claim policy and firms' green innovation. Making polluters bear intergenerational responsibility is considered to be a key move to break intergenerational externalities and effectively address the problem of multiple environmental failures. The ecological damage claim policy makes the environmental rights of future generations being remedied through judicial procedures, and can clarify pollution responsibility to push firms to choose long‐term environmental solutions for achieving intergenerational sustainability and maintaining intergenerational justice. Using longitudinal data (2012–2017) covering 4992 Chinese firm‐year observations in high‐pollution industries, we find that ecological damage claim policy promotes firms' green innovation. This positive effect is stronger when the firm is located in a region with stronger environmental enforcement and more environmental organizations.

Artificial intelligence, ethics, and intergenerational responsibility

In the future, artificially intelligent algorithms will make more and more decisions on behalf of humans that involve humans’ social preferences. They can learn these preferences through the repeated observation of human behavior in social encounters. In such a context, do individuals adjust the selfishness or prosociality of their behavior when it is common knowledge that their actions produce various externalities through the training of an algorithm? In an online experiment, we let participants’ choices in dictator games train an algorithm. Thereby, they create an externality on future decision making of an intelligent system that affects future participants. We show that individuals who are aware of the consequences of their training on the payoffs of a future generation behave more prosocially, but only when they bear the risk of being harmed themselves by future algorithmic choices. In that case, the externality of artificially intelligence training increases the share of egalitarian decisions in the present.

Locating Du Bois, a Product of His Time, Ahead of his Time: Du Bois’ Contributions to Development of an Afrocentric Discipline

This article seeks to investigate Du Bois’ contributions to the development of an Afrocentric paradigm, the discipline of Africology, and his academic relationship with Africa; as both conceptual idea and as the ancestral motherland to Black people around the world. Furthermore, this article seeks to investigate the cultural location, or the paradigm in which Du Bois operates out of politically and academically, his role in the creation of Black Studies as a discipline, his methodology, and the intergenerational responsibility of African descendent academics. This article will utilize a plethora of Dubois’ work. Principally, the writings and speeches collected in Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. and Edmund Abaka’s book W.E.B. Du Bois on Africa; as well as Dubois’ 1947 book The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa has Played in World History.

Phronesis at the Human-Earth Nexus: Managed Retreat

This study explores how experiences from the current pandemic can inform societal responses to future climate change. To that end, an established philosophical concept of geoscientific insights (geoethics) is utilized to advice on governance under systemic uncertainty that, in turn, is a critical feature of complex-adaptive dynamics. Illustrative examples are the Covid-19 health pandemic and the impact of the global sea-level rise to threatening heights in the early 22nd Century. The term “geoethics” labels an emergent geo-philosophical school of thought rooted in geoscience expertise. When combined with contemporary political philosophies, geoethics leads to a geo-philosophical framework that can support adaptation to complex-adaptive dynamics by favoring multi-agent and context-depending processes (e.g., learning-by-doing). The proposed geo-philosophical framework merges geoethics with the political philosophies of H. Jonas (1903–1993), L. Kohlberg (1927–1987), and M. Bunge (1919–2020). These contemporary philosophies emphasize as relevant for achieving a modern caretaking society, respectively, “the hierarchy of societal coordination processes,” “the intergenerational responsibility of agents of change,” and “the balancing of individual wellbeing (happiness) and duties.” When these philosophies are combined with geoethics, a logical approach can be derived for policy design and decision-making. It emphasizes the “autonomy” (of the human agent) combined with a civic culture that favors “trustworthiness,” “scientific culture.” and a “culture of inclusive justice.” We argue that governance of adaptation to complex-adaptive dynamics (e.g., climate change impact) can be informed by the geo- and society-centric perspectives of the proposed geo-philosophical framework. It can address “Human Earth Nexus” governance issues using the knowledge of both natural and social sciences and applying the lens of geoethical thinking.

‘Anger Exhausted’ for the Sake of YHWH’s Name in Ezekiel 20: Did YHWH Really Relent from Wrath Poured Out on Israel?

Abstract It is typically argued that in Ezek 20:5–26 YHWH thrice proposes or purposes to “pour out his wrath” on Israel, but then instead “acts on account of his name” – relenting from or deferring judgment. This paper argues instead, based on grammatical structure and intertextuality with the Pentateuch, that in at least one of these instances (and possibly two), Ezek 20 describes YHWH actually “pouring out wrath” and “exhausting anger” on some Israelites. This reading offers a new dimension for understanding intergenerational responsibility in Ezekiel.

How to Enhance the Motivation for Drug Detoxification: Consciousness Guidance and Behaviour Restriction of Family Intergenerational Ethics.

Assisting substance users to recover from the behaviour of drug addiction and maintain long-term rehabilitation is a long and complicated process, in which the motivation to undergo drug rehabilitation plays a decisive role. So far, the cultural connotation of family and its mechanism of promoting behavioural change of substance users have not been fully explored. Through in-depth interviews with 15 drug rehabilitants, among which there were 7 women and 8 men, it is found that the motivation for drug rehabilitation is stimulated under the guidance and restriction of family ethics based on obligation and responsibility, which is mainly reflected in the longitudinal intergenerational responsibility. On the one hand, negative consequences such as intergenerational liability deficit and reputation damage lead substance users to reflect on ethical values. On the other hand, disciplines such as intergenerational responsibility and obligation and mutual assistance can correct the actual behaviour of substance users in ethical practice. In contrast to Western countries, which focus on external environmental factors such as family function, family relationships and family support, the motivation for drug rehabilitation in China places more emphasis on their identity and role as family members and corresponding responsibilities, which provides inspiration for developing social work services for substance users from family cultural norms.

A Dichotomous Relationship of Intergenerational Caregiving within Elderly Care: Disruption/Disharmony and Connection/ Harmony Across the Generations

In Taiwan, caregiving for older person is an intergenerational responsibility. Modern Taiwanese society faces changing family structures and increased life expectancy of older people which prolongs caregiving responsibilities, however the family relationships of intergenerational caregiving experience are not fully known. This study explored how intergenerational caregiving reconstruct relationships between offspring caregivers and their frail older people to understand how health care services can better meet family needs. We conducted a genogram and eco-map to map individual support networks and relationships. We recruited 32 family members within 12 families across three generations to participate in an individual interview, including 11 frail older people, 3 spousal caregivers, 10 adult child caregivers and 8 grandchildren. The findings demonstrated that the intergenerational caregiving experience was a dichotomous relationship between disruption/disharmony and connection/harmony. For the caregiving experiences, individuals’ cultural values, beliefs, and family relationships should be considered in the context of shifting tradition, in Taiwan.

Judging the past: Memory, others, and intergenerational responsibility among the Japanese youth

The past continuously haunts Japan. It has been more than 75 years since the end of the last war and Japan has never fully reconciled with its Asian neighbors, especially China and South Korea, over the question of how to commemorate Japan’s past wrongs and atone for the physical as well as the psychological wounds it caused in Asia. In this context, also problematized is the question of intergenerational responsibility. Can the members of current generations feel responsibility and obligation to make restitution for wrongs perpetrated before they were born? If so, how? If not, why not? As it is reported that the Japanese public’s sense of affinity toward China and South Korea greatly deteriorated in the 2010s due to a series of memory disputes, it seems imperative to delve into the Japanese youth’s sense of the past. In this exploratory study, by following Barry Schwartz and his colleagues’ Judging the Past framework, we conducted college student surveys (N = 320) in 2017/2018 and interviews (N = 31) in 2017 and explored the cognitive connection between the Japanese youth’s sense of nation and their perceptions of moral responsibility for Japan’s militaristic past.

'It's like a double-edged sword': understanding Confucianism's role in activity participation among first-generation older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and Belgium.

While activity participation in later life has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and scholars, indoor and outdoor engagement among older Chinese migrants in Europe is understudied. Using in-depth interviews with 21 older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and seven in Belgium, this study is among the first to explore older Chinese migrants' activity participation experiences from the perspective of Confucianism, the cornerstone of Chinese culture. More specifically, the impact of four acknowledged principles of Confucianism are considered: hierarchical relationships, family system, benevolence and emphasis on education. The findings show that, like a double-edged sword, these four principles have positive and negative effects on older Chinese migrants' activity participation. Hierarchical relationships promote formal organisational participation, yet concurrently dividing the Chinese community into smaller subgroups and endangering solidarity within the community. With regard to family system, which emphasizes intergenerational responsibility and obligation, older Confucianist migrants prioritise taking care of their grandchildren, resulting in less time to participate in outdoor activities. Benevolence, the third principle of Confucianism, restrains older Chinese migrants from political participation while encouraging them to attend community meetings where food is shared. Lastly, emphasis on education, of which self-cultivation is an important aspect, helps older Chinese migrants overcome feelings of loneliness and makes them prefer self-learning activity above formal learning settings (e.g. language learning) organised by the government. The article ends with policy recommendations on how to increase older Chinese migrants' outdoor activities.

The Role of Catholicism in Shaping a Culture of Sustainable Consumption

The paper presents the potential of religions, in particular Christianity, in shaping a culture of sustainable consumption (a culture of moderation). It focuses on the contribution of the Catholic tradition, which is, to some extent, complemented by statements representing other Christian denominations. Based on an analysis of relevant sources, it identifies risks arising from the prevalence of a consumer culture, which results in the primacy of “having” over “being” and reduces man to a Homo consumens. Moreover, the widespread culture of consumerism is associated with a so-called throwaway culture dominated by a disposable mentality making use of things and people. It also points to one of the key elements of consumer culture (a culture of overuse) in the form of so-called neophilia, resulting in the weakening of interpersonal relationships, the atomization of societies, and depletion of the Earth’s resources, combined with reckless wastefulness. An analysis of consumer culture leads to the identification of elements that underpin a culture of moderation, being an antidote to dangers arising from the prevalence of consumer culture. The most important elements shaping a model of culture that is man- and environment-friendly include a new model of progress, a mentality of communion, and a new lifestyle. It is a model of progress, which is not limited merely to economics, but takes into account the need for integral human development and appreciates the spiritual and cultural sphere of life. In order to build a culture of moderation, a communion mentality is needed to restore interpersonal relationships and make man aware of his relation to the whole community of life. Another important element of a culture of moderation is a new lifestyle which takes into account all human needs, respects the potential of the natural environment, and is characterized by intra-generational and inter-generational responsibility. There is much to suggest that Christianity has the potential to make a significant contribution to reducing the culture of overuse and promoting a culture of moderation. The influence of Catholic thought on shaping a culture of sustainable consumption is illustrated by the introduction of restrictions on Sunday shopping in Poland in 2018. This case study shows the importance of religious arguments in introducing legal changes and their impact on promoting a culture of moderation.

Living in and out of time: Youth-led activism in Aotearoa New Zealand

Addressing past and present injustices in order to create more just futures is the central premise of most social movements. How activists conceptualise and relate to time affects1how they articulate their vision, the actions they take and how they imagine intergenerational justice. Two social movements for change are emblematic of different relationships with time: the struggle to resolve and repair past injustices against Indigenous peoples and the struggle to avert environmental disaster, which haunt the future of the planet. We report ethnographic research (interviews and participant observation) with young activists in these two social movements in New Zealand: Protect Ihumātao seeks to protect Indigenous land from a housing development, and Generation Zero is lobbying for a zero-carbon future. We argue that analysing activists’ articulations and sensations of time is fundamental to understanding the ways they see themselves in relation to other generations, their ethical imperatives for action and beliefs about how best to achieve social change. Protect Ihumātao participants spoke of time as though past, present and future were intertwined and attributed their responsibility to protect the land to past and future generations. Generation Zero participants spoke of time as a linear trajectory to a climate-altered future, often laying blame for the current crises on previous generations and attributing the responsibility for averting the crisis to younger generations. How activists conceptualise time and generational relations therefore has consequences for the attribution of responsibility for creating social change. Understanding and learning about temporal diversity across social movements is instructive for expanding our thinking about intergenerational responsibility which might inform ways of living more respectfully with the planet.

Cognitive Differences and Influencing Factors of Chinese People's Old-Age Care Responsibility against the Ageing Background.

With the rapid increase in the ageing population (60+) in China since 1999, the problem of supporting the aged is facing increasingly severe challenges. Based on the 2072 valid samples from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of 2017, a non-sequential multinomial logistic regression model was established to analyse the changing trends and micro-influencing factors of Chinese people’s cognition of old-age care responsibility (COACR). The result shows that offspring responsibility still is a common COACR, but this concept has been gradually weakened and been replaced by the responsibility of the government and the aged. Individual characteristics and relationships with relatives in the models all significantly affect people’s COACR. It is obviously unrealistic for China to completely rely on government and society to provide for the aged. The traditional ethical role of inter-generational responsibility in providing for the aged should be brought into play. Reshaping the inter-generational responsibility ethics of old-age care requires the joint efforts of government, society, families, individuals and other responsible subjects to construct a diversified old-age care service system.

Climate Change and Moral Responsibility toward Future Generations: A Confucian Perspective

Climate change challenges the harm-based justification of intergenerational responsibilities. Alternatively, this article provides a virtue-based account grounded in Confucian ethics. According to the virtue of Shengsheng, the intergenerational responsibility is justified in terms of enabling future generations to cultivate their innate virtue in a ceaseless life-generating natural world.