The virtue ethics alternative to freedom for a mutually beneficial human-earth relationship

In this chapter, I argue that the eudaimonian virtue ethics tradition offers a concept of freedom that is consistent with a mutually beneficial human–earth relationship. In contrast to the ontological understanding of the autonomous rational and morally sovereign individual in Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought, the individual within the virtue ethics tradition is conceived as a relational being. As such, each individual is free to make choices, assuming individuals are embedded within larger socio-ecological systems. Hence, freedom within the eudaimonian virtue ethics tradition is consistent with adopting a systems approach. I suggest that this approach can contribute to a more sustainable, ecologically benign modernity.