From Ethics of Right to Ethics of Care

Environmental ethics is a new ethic that is no longer based on humans alone, but recognizes the moral right of trees to grow, rivers to flow, even worms. This is not just an eccentric idea, but the epistemological foundation of biocentrism — an ethic that recognizes that all living things have their rights. If in the systemchecks and balancesof the rule of law, power is limited and mutually supervised, then in environmental ethics, humans are limited by “natural rights” —a natural limit — which are non-negotiable. But the problem is, the constitution does not yet formally recognize natural rights. In fact, in many cases, ecological damage is legalized through regulations: mines are opened in the name of regulations, and forests are cut down in the name of investment. This is the paradox of constitutional democracy that is not based on ecological awareness. The presidential system becomes a legal instrument to justify ecosystem destruction. Therefore, a new idea needs to be voiced: thatchecks and balancesin the constitutional system, it is not enough to only limit state institutions, but also to limit human arbitrariness over the exploitation of nature.