Should Climate Change Impact the Ethics of Lifelong Guidance?

Abstract

The discussion on global warming is part of a global increase in ecological awareness that has been going on for some time now. Though the research results and the predictions contain some uncertainties, it appears clear that the global climate is warming at quite a fast pace and that this warming is largely due to human influence. At the same time in order to ensure the welfare of the citizens of European countries, the objective of economic policy is continuous growth. Major tools for achieving this objective are lifelong learning and lifelong guidance. The observed and predicted changes connected to climate change bring forth the issue of global ethics of lifelong guidance. In this article we ask how we can define the ethics of lifelong guidance if we are to consider both sustainable development and well-being of citizens. Individuals who conceive of themselves as participants in a generational continuum have duties to their predecessors and descendants. Therefore the ethics of lifelong guidance should be based on the principles of sustainable development.