Global disasters such as the world economic crisis, war, pandemic, and climate crisis threaten the planet and all life. However, traditional ethics before the era of globalization show limitations in responding to global disasters. Starting from recognizing this problem, the purpose of this study aims to seek the direction and outline characteristics of new global ethics to realize the vision of a safe and prosperous planet.
The new global ethics differs from the traditional ethics in several respects as follows. Firstly, in global ethics, the moral identity of the actor is defined as a global citizenship, not as a people or nation. Secondly, in global ethics, the object of moral responsibility extends beyond humans to humans, society, or to nature. Thirdly, the temporal scope of moral consideration in global ethics extends beyond the past or present to the future. In this case, moral responsibility is characterized by preventive and precautionary, not by post-prescriptive responsibility. Fourthly, in global ethics, emotional elements such as empathy and compassion, which were ignored in rational-centered ethics, are emphasized, and through this, harmony between reason and emotion in moral discussion is sought. Lastly, we can find the normative foundation on which mankind can reach moral consensus beyond diversity and difference in the Golden Rule. It emphasizes not only normative universality but also the practice of compassion, which is helpful in coping with disasters.