Philosophy and ethics of green chemistry: A systematic review
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Abstract
This systematic review examines the philosophical and ethical foundations of green chemistry, tracing its conceptual evolution from a narrowly technical, pollution-prevention paradigm toward an interdisciplinary framework grounded in moral responsibility, systems thinking, and environmental justice. Conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, the review synthesizes thirty-eight peer-reviewed studies published between 2016 and 2025, drawn from philosophy, bioethics, environmental policy, and chemical education literatures. Findings reveal a persistent tension between the proliferation of quantitative "greenness" metrics and the qualitative ethical commitments—including precaution, virtue, and epistemic justice—that these tools struggle to capture. The analysis further identifies a gap between students' and practitioners' often superficial grasp of green chemistry principles and the deeper systems thinking genuine sustainability demands, alongside institutional pressures that risk reducing "green" terminology to a marketing device shaped by shifting policy priorities. Attention to cultural and epistemic pluralism, including non-Western philosophical traditions such as Hindu metaphysics and Confucian ecological ethics, emerges as a corrective to the anthropocentric assumptions embedded in much Western scientific discourse. By positioning the chemist as a moral agent accountable for the full life cycle of chemical innovation, the review argues that technical optimization alone cannot secure responsible outcomes; ethical reflection, inclusive deliberation, and systems-level education must accompany scientific advancement. The study offers humanities scholars a synthesized map of green chemistry's normative terrain, situating it within broader debates on justice, culture, and knowledge production that resonate across the arts and humanities, and identifies directions for interdisciplinary collaboration among chemists, philosophers, and educators.
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