Abstract
The term sustainability has enjoyed great success, but at the cost of overextending its meaning to the point of trivialization. There is such an overabundance of definitions, concepts, models and political strategies that it is not clear anymore whether the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ still bear any meaning. The theory outlined in this chapter counters these tendencies by identifying more precisely the normative field that constitutes the very core of the sustainability concept, while avoiding a too narrow understanding. It points out the ethical presuppositions as well as the requirements for a theoretical framework of a consistent and discursively justified concept of sustainability. This rectifies the vagueness of the term as currently used and offers new possibilities for sustainability communication.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
In the international discourse on sustainability there are only a few approaches that attempt a philosophical and normative analysis from the point of view of inter- and intragenerational justice (see among others, Dobson 2003; Norton 2005). A thorough presentation of these approaches, involving a comparison with the theory of strong sustainability, would go beyond the scope of this chapter.
References
Biesecker, A., & Hofmeister, S. (2009). Starke Nachhaltigkeit fordert eine Ökonomie der (Re)Produktivität. In T. von Egan-Krieger, J. Schultz, P. P. Thapa, & L. Voget (Eds.), Die Greifswalder Theorie starker Nachhaltigkeit: Ausbau, Anwendung und Kritik (pp. 169–192). Marburg: Metropolis.
Daly, H. E. (1997). Beyond growth: The economics of sustainable development. Boston, MA: Beacon.
Dobson, A. (2003). Citizenship and the environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Faber, M., & Manstetten, R. (1998). Produktion, Konsum und Dienste in der Natur: Eine Theorie der Fonds. In F. Schweitzer & G. Silverberg (Eds.), Selbstorganisation (pp. 209–236). Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Frankfurt, H. (1987). Equality as a moral ideal. Ethics, 98, 21–43.
Gowdy, J., & McDaniel, C. (1999). The physical destruction of Nauru: An example of weak sustainability. Land Economics, 75, 333–338.
Grey, W. (1996). Possible persons and the problem of posterity. Environmental Values, 5, 161–179.
Grunwald, A. (2009). Konzepte nachhaltiger Entwicklung vergleichen – aber wie? Diskursebenen und Vergleichsmaßstäbe. In T. von Egan-Krieger, J. Schultz, P. Thapa, & L. Voget (Eds.), Die Greifswalder Theorie starker Nachhaltigkeit. Ausbau, Anwendung und Kritik. Marburg: Metropolis.
Habermas, J. (1981). Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp.
Habermas, J. (1992). Faktizität und Geltung. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp.
Held, M., & Nutzinger, H. G. (Eds.). (2001). Nachhaltiges Naturkapital: Ökonomik und zukunftsfähige Entwicklung. Frankfurt/M/New York: Campus.
Muraca, B. (2010). Denken im Grenzgebiet: prozessphilosophische Grundlagen einer Theorie starker Nachhaltigkeit. Freiburg/München: Alber.
Norton, B. (2005). Sustainability: A philosophy of adaptive ecosystem management. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Nussbaum, M. (2001). Women and human development: The capabilities approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ott, K. (2004a). Noch einmal: Diskursethik. In N. Gottschalk-Mazouz (Ed.), Perspektiven der Diskursethik (pp. 143–173). Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann.
Ott, K. (2004b). Essential components of future ethics. In R. Döring & M. Rühs (Eds.), Ökonomische Rationalität und praktische Vernunft: Gerechtigkeit, ökologische Ökonomie und Naturschutz (pp. 83–108). Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann.
Ott, K. (2009). On substantiating the concept of strong sustainability. In R. Döring (Ed.), Sustainability, natural capital and nature conservation (pp. 49–72). Marburg: Metropolis.
Ott, K., & Döring, R. (2008). Theorie und Praxis starker Nachhaltigkeit. Marburg: Metropolis.
Ott, K. & Voget, L. (2007). Ethical dimension of education for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development, 1. Retrieved 18 Dec 2009, from http://www.bne-portal.de/coremedia/generator/pm/en/Issue__001/Downloads/01__Contributions/Ott__Voget.pdf.
Paech, N. (2006). Nachhaltigkeitsprinzipien jenseits des Drei-Säulen-Paradigmas. Natur und Kultur, 7, 42–62.
Parfit, D. (1987). Reasons and persons. Oxford: Clarendon.
Partridge, E. (1990). On the rights on future generations. In D. Scherer (Ed.), Upstream/downstream: Issues in ethics (pp. 40–66). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Potthast, T. (2005). Umweltforschung und das Problem epistemisch-moralischer Hybride. In S. Baumgärtner & C. Becker (Eds.), Wissenschaftsphilosophie interdisziplinärer Umweltforschung (pp. 87–100). Marburg: Metropolis.
Rawls, J. (1973). A theory of justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tugendhat, E. (1993). Vorlesungen über Ethik. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp.
Unnerstall, H. (1999). Rechte zukünftiger Generationen. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann.
von Egan-Krieger, T. (2005). Theorie der Nachhaltigkeit und die deutsche Waldwirtschaft der Zukunft. Diploma thesis, Greifswald University, Greifswald.
von Egan-Krieger, T., Schultz, J., Thapa, P. T., & Voget, L. (Eds.). (2009). Die Greifswalder Theorie starker Nachhaltigkeit. Marburg: Metropolis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ott, K., Muraca, B., Baatz, C. (2011). Strong Sustainability as a Frame for Sustainability Communication. In: Godemann, J., Michelsen, G. (eds) Sustainability Communication. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1697-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1697-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1696-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1697-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)