Open Access

When we want to understand why the laws of nature and nature itself are currently in such bad condition, we need to look at our way of seeing the world. When we want to stop the rapid deforestation, climate change, mass extinction, and other catastrophic impacts we have on our environment, we need to figure out at what time and why they started. There are fundamental differences between an anthropocentric worldview, where humans are above all other species, and an animist worldview, where humans are a part of nature. Due to people acting accordingly to their perception of the world, we need to understand why these perceptions differentiate so much and why people from the imperial core, respectively, the exploiting countries, think in a hierarchical pattern. Our disconnectedness from nature has reached a shocking extent. People living in big cities see nothing but concrete and cars; the plants they have in their homes are made out of plastic; and the only time they see animals is when they go to a zoo, where they are crammed in little enclosures and alienated from their natural habitat. Children growing up these days spend more time watching ads on TV or social media than they spend in nature. No wonder that many people know more brands than tree species, despite the fact that just one of those two keeps them alive. It is high time to question this development and to ask ourselves how we ended up here. Interestingly, there are still elements of a human-nature relationship visible in our modern capitalist society. Some people see their dog or cat as part of the family and talk to them; others care for plants as well as they do for their own children. And even in movies, a world is a portrait where the birds talk to the people and plants are alive. Therefore, the idea of nature being alive rather than just some material resource still prevails in our subconscious and in our fantasy to this day. The first part of this paper portrays our current perspective on nature and how it developed. From Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to the scientific revolution initiated by Francis Bacon and the dualism founded by Descartes, many theories influenced our perception of the world. The term Anthropocene is widespread, but it is rarely discussed or narrowed down when used. It will be discussed and elaborated on how the rise of capitalism is related to the accelerating exploitation of nature. The second part is about defining animism, the initial view of humans as a part of nature, which is still prevalent in indigenous culture. Cartesian dualism will be challenged, and other philosophical theories will be examined. The concept and theory of ecological feminism are going to be introduced, and the underlying analyses will be conducted in the context of animism. Our perception of nature will be debunked, and strong advocacy will be made for a more sustainable human-nature relationship.

Purpose: Grounded in the theoretical concepts of utilitarianism and deontology, this paper aims to evaluate the issue of child labour from an ethics perspective. By linking utilitarianism with normative stakeholder theory, relevant stakeholder groups are being identified in order to examine their influence on and role in the occurrence of child labour allowing for a practical reference. The findings may serve companies in particular as a basis for decision-making in the development of their value chains. Design/Methodology/Approach: The author uses a literature review in order to analyze the findings of existing literature on the topic of child labour in an ethics context, thereby drawing on literature, indexed in Web of Science and Google Scholar by employing forward and backward citation analysis. Findings: The investigation of child labour in terms of ethics yields conflicting results. From a deontological perspective, child labour can never be ethical and should always be rejected as it is not wanted to become a general law. In contrast, according to a utilitarian sentiment, child labour is ethically justifiable as long as the beneficiaries of the labour are greater in number than the children working or suffering. Originality/Value: The examination of child labour from the perspective of deontology and utilitarianism in conjunction with normative stakeholder theory constitutes a novelty in the ethics literature. The integration of theoretical findings into a practical business context provides additional value for managers and global supply chain managers.