Kinship as a Metaphor for Earth System Law

The presentation explores the role of metaphors in international environmental law, focusing on kinship metaphors. The work argues that, in contrast to prevailing legal metaphors like property, public trust, and personhood, the use of kinship metaphors promotes notions of community, shared responsibility, subjectivity of nature, and intergenerational ethics.

By situating kinship within the context of legal pluralism and addressing the gaps and shortcomings of prevailing metaphors...

...using kinship metaphors ultimately helps to re-align legal principles with the urgent needs of the current planetary crisis.

1. Kinship as a Metaphor for Earth System Law and Governance 14 October, 2024 Dr. Rosalind Warner [email protected] The Evolution of Earth System Law: Innovating New Legal Principles for the Anthropocene

2. Overview The Chapter explores the role of metaphors in international environmental law, focusing on  kinship metaphors. The Chapter argues that, in contrast to prevailing legal metaphors like property, public trust, and personhood, the use of kinship metaphors promotes notions of community, shared responsibility, subjectivity of nature, and intergenerational ethics. By situating kinship within the context of legal pluralism and addressing the gaps and shortcomings of prevailing metaphors... ...using kinship metaphors ultimately helps to re-align legal principles with the urgent needs of the current planetary crisis.

3. Why Metaphors? Why pay attention to metaphors and their use in Earth System Law? Bridging disciplines - Earth System Law intersects with science, economics, and social issues, metaphors can help create a common language between these disciplines, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration. Reframing and transforming - By reframing issues in novel ways, metaphors can encourage creative problem-solving, inspire innovative approaches, and help to develop new legal frameworks (Hone, 2012).

4. Some Examples Climate Action as 'warfare'

5. Some Examples Climate Action as 'building a house'

6. Metaphors and ESL How are Metaphors situated in/of Earth System Law? Property  – nature is understood to be an extended tool or instrument of humans within a defined and narrow purpose (same mechanical properties as a clock) GAIA - the planet is understood to be a living biological embodied organism, approached with a planetary scope and a complex systems mindset Harmony with Nature – similar to GAIA, it is an esthetic metaphor that suggests a set of relationships that are more than the sum of their parts, dynamic, progressive, united and mutually reinforcing, in the same way that notes are in a musical score

7. What is it? What is a Kinship Metaphor? An ethical metaphorical relationship based on warmth, familiarity, respect and trust   A relationship of mutual rights and responsibilities in the context of a common origin and fate A collective and stable identity defined as 'family' 'relative' 'brother/sister', 'mother/father', etc.

8. Kinship Metaphor and ESL What does a Kinship metaphor mean for ESL? For Intergenerational Ethics Means common origins and common fate of human and nature Precludes instrumentalism as the core modus operandi  Generations are part of a single continuous community with mutual rights and obligations to each other For Nature Subjectivity & Intrinsic Value A specific form of legal subjectivity that emphasizes the community basis of law Creates a community subjectivity Nods to recent ecological science that views ecosystems as alive (similar to GAIA)

9. Kinship Metaphor and ESL What does a Kinship metaphor mean for ESL? In short, a kinship metaphor allows for: •legal subjectivity •moral agency •intergenerational ethic •intrinsic value for nature

10. Kinship as a Metaphor for Earth System Law and Governance 14 October, 2024 Dr. Rosalind Warner [email protected] The Evolution of Earth System Law: Innovating New Legal Principles for the Anthropocene THANK YOU!