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Review article: the ethics of population policies

Andersson, Henrik LU ; Brandstedt, Eric LU and Torpman, Olle (2024) In Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP) 27(4). p.653-658
Abstract
This is a review of contemporary philosophical discussions of population policies. The focus is on normative justification, and the main question is whether population policies can be ethically justified. Although few analytical philosophers have directly addressed this question – it has been discussed more in other academic fields – many arguments and considerations can be placed in the analytical philosophical discourse. This article offers a comprehensive review and analysis of ethically relevant aspects of population policies evaluated on the basis of the main ethical theories. This analysis is preceded by a brief historical contextualisation of when and how population policies became ethically contentious and how this relates to... (More)
This is a review of contemporary philosophical discussions of population policies. The focus is on normative justification, and the main question is whether population policies can be ethically justified. Although few analytical philosophers have directly addressed this question – it has been discussed more in other academic fields – many arguments and considerations can be placed in the analytical philosophical discourse. This article offers a comprehensive review and analysis of ethically relevant aspects of population policies evaluated on the basis of the main ethical theories. This analysis is preceded by a brief historical contextualisation of when and how population policies became ethically contentious and how this relates to philosophical debates in environmental ethics, population ethics and political philosophy. The article also includes a conceptual analysis of population policies in which the empirical intricacies around individual fertility decisions are sorted out and the different ways in which they can be affected are categorised in a taxonomy which highlight the most relevant ethical aspects of population policies. The ethical analysis shows that while population policies can be justified on the basis of most ethical theories, it all depends on what prior assumptions are made about what is at stake. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Population policies, population ethics, coercive, eugenics, population control, ethics, climate change
in
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP)
volume
27
issue
4
pages
653 - 658
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85101080944
ISSN
1369-8230
DOI
10.1080/13698230.2021.1886714
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e0d90dee-c784-4853-8a69-a59b0e1ae279
date added to LUP
2021-02-15 08:33:00
date last changed
2025-03-08 13:52:20
@article{e0d90dee-c784-4853-8a69-a59b0e1ae279,
  abstract     = {{This is a review of contemporary philosophical discussions of population policies. The focus is on normative justification, and the main question is whether population policies can be ethically justified. Although few analytical philosophers have directly addressed this question – it has been discussed more in other academic fields – many arguments and considerations can be placed in the analytical philosophical discourse. This article offers a comprehensive review and analysis of ethically relevant aspects of population policies evaluated on the basis of the main ethical theories. This analysis is preceded by a brief historical contextualisation of when and how population policies became ethically contentious and how this relates to philosophical debates in environmental ethics, population ethics and political philosophy. The article also includes a conceptual analysis of population policies in which the empirical intricacies around individual fertility decisions are sorted out and the different ways in which they can be affected are categorised in a taxonomy which highlight the most relevant ethical aspects of population policies. The ethical analysis shows that while population policies can be justified on the basis of most ethical theories, it all depends on what prior assumptions are made about what is at stake.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Henrik and Brandstedt, Eric and Torpman, Olle}},
  issn         = {{1369-8230}},
  keywords     = {{Population policies; population ethics; coercive; eugenics; population control; ethics; climate change}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{653--658}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP)}},
  title        = {{Review article: the ethics of population policies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2021.1886714}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/13698230.2021.1886714}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}