Gratifying Transitions: Maintaining Wellbeing in the Face of Climate Change [Hardcover]

Concerns for future human wellbeing play a central role in climate change debate and policy making but have received scarce attention in climate change ethics.Gratifying Transitions: Maintaining Wellbeing in the Face of Climate Changeremedies this by considering whether and how we can live a good and satisfying life under constraints caused by climate change. Drawing on behavioral psychology and theories of self-cultivation, the author argues that green transition requires that we work actively with wellbeing, as moral beliefs, knowledge about climate change, or new understandings of the relationship between humans and nature are unlikely to bring about the necessary changes in behavior. Contrary to a widespread view, the author further argues that subjective wellbeing rather than basic needs satisfaction is the most appropriate notion of wellbeing for addressing climate change issues. The book contains both detailed philosophical arguments and concrete guidelines for how to foster a transition to more sustainable, but still sufficiently rewarding, ways of living, individually as well as collectively.The book considers how we can live a satisfying life under constraints caused by climate change, and how we can work with subjective wellbeing to bring about a quick and acceptable green transition.S?ren Harnow Klausenis professor of philosophy at the University of Southern Denmark.

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 The role of wellbeing in responding to climate change
1.2 Wellbeing and change
1.3 Wellbeing, motivation and action
1.4 Views on the relationship between climate change, climate action and wellbeing
1.4 Why not gamble on green growth?
1.5 Why not just politics?
1.6 Wellbeing for whom?
1.7 An interdisciplinary, philosophy-driven approach

Chapter 2: Life in the Future
2.1 The ubiquity of change
2.2 Change for better or worse?
2.3 Going through changes
2.4 Quantity and quality of change
2.5 Living wlS4