Aesthetics of the Anthropocene: And How They Can Challenge Business Ethics

Abstract

This article explores the question of ethical legitimacy in light of the Anthropocene as a new age in which humans have become geological agents and thus responsible for the ecological degradation of the Earth and the current climate crisis – threatening not only humans but also all other nonhuman life-forms. For companies involved in pollution or the extraction and exploitation of natural resources – whether in the form of farmed animal products, plantations, or minerals – these activities pose an especially huge challenge to business legitimacy. Contemporary art is proposed as a way of producing awareness of the Anthropocene, as well as examining its impact and ethical consequences through making visible the hidden costs of a Western lifestyle and opening up critical thinking and imagination about other life-forms inhabiting the Earth. Various trajectories of such contemporary art production are mapped out. Lastly, some thoughts on a “community of contribution” are presented as a new way to measure ethical actions by individuals and businesses in the Anthropocene.