Theoretical Distinctions

Positioning in the field of ethics

Supplement, not Replacement

Path ethics is not competition with classical ethical traditions. It is structural supplementation.

| Ethical Tradition | Addresses | Path Ethics Supplements |

| --- | --- | --- |

What path ethics does not replace:

Subjective suffering remains morally relevant (Utilitarianism)
Personal dignity remains categorical (Deontology)
Emotional care remains valuable (Care Ethics)

What path ethics addresses that others do not capture:

Emergent infrastructures (Internet, financial systems)
Distributed AI systems (no single agent)
Ecosystems (no persons, no aggregable suffering)
Hybrid human-machine systems

Path ethics is an additional lens, not a new religion.

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Civic Care Ethics vs. Path Ethics

Care Ethics (Joan Tronto et al.) emphasizes the relational nature of human existence. Path ethics shares this relational approach but radicalizes it: It decouples "care" from individual human emotion (Structural Care).

Information Ethics (Floridi)

Luciano Floridi's information ethics is "ontocentric" (data = intrinsic value). Path ethics is processual: Not the datum itself counts, but the active path of information flow.

Actor-Network Theory (ANT)

ANT describes networks descriptively. Path ethics is decidedly normative: We evaluate networks according to the A-A-P framework.