Book contents
6 - Temperance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2026
Summary
The virtue of temperance, or moderation, is central to a discussion of responding to climate change by showing restraint. In this chapter, we discuss the idea that temperance is not about despising goods or pleasures, but about ordering them, being willing to forgo lesser goods for the sake of greater goods. Attention to the need for temperance helps us to be realistic that the climate challenge we face does require some sacrifice, some letting go. Approaching that in terms of the ordering of goods helps us to find motivation: we do it for the sake of the things we love most, among which we might list God, the earth, human societies and other people, not least those who will come after us.
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- Promise the EarthA Safe Climate in Good Faith, pp. 63 - 68Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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