Environmental Ethics and Multispecies Justice

This research project addresses the ethical and cultural dimensions of the relationship between human societies and the non-human world. It investigates how frameworks of responsibility and judgment must evolve in the face of ecological crises and multispecies encounters. The work focuses on the "dignity of the creature" as a non-negotiable ethical value, exploring how institutional decision-making can be shielded from political opportunism and bureaucratic inertia. By integrating perspectives from biosemiotics, environmental philosophy, and legal theory, this field seeks to develop robust ethical grammars for navigating the complex tensions between technological progress, ecological integrity, and the moral status of non-human beings.

Statement / Project Spotlight: Towards a "Lex Timmy" – Decoupling Ethics from Political Opportunism: The tragic events surrounding the humpback whale 'Timmy' in the Baltic Sea in March/April 2026 in Germany have exposed a profound ethical vacuum in current crisis management protocols. ethonoma Research institute is launching a research initiative to draft a framework for what we call 'Lex Timmy': a legal and ethical mandate for the establishment of independent, ad-hoc expert commissions in wildlife emergencies.
Our goal is to analyze how the 'moral status of the individual' was sacrificed for political PR and to develop a model that transfers decision-making power from political actors to independent ethical and scientific bodies. By decoupling life-and-death decisions from public opinion and bureaucratic paralysis, we seek to ensure that 'multispecies justice' becomes an operative reality rather than a rhetorical gesture. This project serves as a case study in how societies must reorganize their institutional judgment to prevent further 'ethical bankruptcies' in the face of ecological encounters. A primary objective is to resolve the liability dilemmas that often paralyze professional action. By advocating for a clear legal mandate and immunity frameworks, we seek to empower expert teams to prioritize animal welfare and ethical urgency over administrative fear and political intervention.