The threat now posed by human beings to the future of life on Earth demands a genuinely global response. It would seem to require a global ethic of some kind that is more than the sum of humanity’s existing declarations of rights and freedoms, wars of intercession, and judicial systems of redress – a concrete ethic of global responsibility which normalises altruistic behaviours while at the same time greatly extending their scope. This article makes the case for such an ethic. It is underpinned by the conviction that human beings do not ‘begin and end with themselves in their knowing’ and takes the view that to see the world as meaningful and whole in its own right; to embrace wholeheartedly the idea that everything is connected; to see oneself as real only in relationship, as free only for others, and as finally responsible – before God – for one’s actions, shapes a way of being in the world that gives those who practise it the opportunity to construct a fully inclusive ethic of justice, care, and compassion for the whole creation.

人类现在对地球生命的未来构成的威胁需要全球做出真正的回应。它似乎需要某种全球伦理，而不仅仅是人类现有的权利和自由宣言、调解战争和补救司法系统的总和——一种全球责任的具体伦理，它使利他行为正常化，同时使利他行为正常化。时间大大扩展了它们的范围。本文阐述了这种道德观。它的基础是这样的信念：人类“在其认知中并非以自身开始和结束”，并认为世界本身是有意义的和完整的；全心全意地拥抱万物互联的理念；认为自己只在关系中才是真实的，只对他人来说是自由的，并且最终在上帝面前对自己的行为负责，塑造了一种在世界上存在的方式，使实践者有机会构建一种完全包容的道德对整个受造物的正义、关怀和同情。