Geoethics for Operating in the Human Niche

Geosciences co-shape the human niche; hence, geoethical thinking is pertinent for geoscientists. Within the human niche, geo-endowments, like water, are shared resources that are commons. As a societal context, the human niche is a planetary network of natural and cultural environments. Geoethical thinking explores cultural substrates that nurture the skills of human agents and the operational circumstances that they encounter in the human niche. Initially, geoscientists conceived geoethics for their professional circumstances. Subsequently, geoethics evolved into an epistemic, moral hybrid for citizens that are interacting with the Earth system. Furthering geoethics—that is, combining it with Kohlberg’s ‘hierarchy of moral adequacy’ and Jonas’s ‘imperative of responsibility’—leads to formulating in a ‘geoethical rationale’, namely, to act ‘actor centric, virtue-ethics focused, responsibility focused, knowledge based, all-actor inclusive, and universal rights based’. Uniting geoethical thinking with thinking about moral adequacy and responsibility for future generations strengthens the applicability of geoethics. The geoethical rationale is formulated at a normative meta-level to apply in any societal or scientific context that is relevant for geosciences. Furthermore, the geoethical rationale supports any human agent (geoscientists or citizens) in navigating the human niche, for example, by framing how to handle a diversity of cultural, social and scientific circumstances.