Chapter 11 Environmental Ethics
Chapter 11 Environmental Ethics
Chapter 11 Environmental Ethics
Although philosophy has a long history of theorizing about the place of humans in
the natural world, environmental ethics as a subfield of philosophy didn’t really get its
start until the early 1970s. Partly as a result of the growing environmental consciousness
and social movements of the 1960s, public interest increased in questions about humans’
moral relationship with the rest of the natural world. In the field of philosophy, a number
of theorists at that time came to believe that traditional ethical theories were unable to
provide an adequate account of this relationship. The motivation for the earliest work in
environmental ethics, then, was a desire to formulate ethical theories that did a better job
of accounting for our moral obligations to the nonhuman natural world.
From the second half part of the 20th century, many environmental issues appeared
and caused many disasters; therefore, the interest in environmental ethics increased and
has become more systematic. It grew sufficiently in the 1980s to see the publication of a
journal Environmental Ethics and other educational books and resources devoted to
environmental philosophy.
Collectively these alternative standpoints all urge for an increased level of awareness
on the interdependency, fragility and vitality of our natural environment, challenging
traditional values and principles of economic growth. Indeed, the oft quoted World
Commission on Environment and Development report Our Common Future (WCED, 1987)
definition of sustainable development: “Sustainable development is the development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.” has been criticized as being both anthropocentric and based upon
a classical economic perspective of the meaning and value of development. The positive
aspects of this book are that intergenerational responsibility and sustainability were
identified on the international agenda. However, true sustainability may require a
reassessment of consumerist values and economic systems that do not place the
environment at the center of accounting procedures rather than include it as a commodity
that can provide services than be can measured in monetary terms.
Anthropocentricism
-it means human centered and as such can refer broadly to a particular worldview,
value or attitude.
-In environmental ethics, it refers to the view that only humans have moral status
or are intrinsically valuable. The nonhuman natural objects (such as the animals,
the plants, and the environment) have no intrinsic or inherent worth; they matter
only inasmuch as they benefit or serve the interests of human beings.
-St. Thomas Aquinas view of the natural environment as created at the service of
human beings
-Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas held these positions because they believed that
only human beings have moral standing. Human beings have moral standing
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because they possess an intellect (or soul) that makes them capable of thinking
and choosing.
- For Descartes, animals and plants does not have any moral standing since they are
non-humans and they are only capable of mechanistic behavior which does not
involve conscious and thoughtful activity. In this regard, animals do not have any
moral standing.
- Kant, also excluded nonhuman animals from moral consideration. They are not to
be considered to be moral beings since they are not capable of free and rational
action.
Sentientism
- Singer has argued that our exclusion of animals from moral considerability is equal
to the discrimination that has been perpetuated before, and even today in some
societies against black and women.
Biocentrism
- Means life-centered ethics, and thus refers to the theory that view all life as
possessing intrinsic value whether it is a human, an animal, or a plant.
- The theory simply broadens the base class of morally considerable beings, but not
as wide relative to the millions of plant and invertebrate forms of life making up
earth’s denizens, remain mere means to be managed for the good of the morally-
privileged class of sentient beings.
Ecocentrism
- A view that recognizes intrinsic value in all life forms and ecosystems themselves.
In a sense, it finds inherent value in all of nature.
- Ecocentrism goes beyond scientism on account of explicitly including flora and the
ecological contexts for organism. It also goes beyond biocentrism by including
environmental systems as wholes, and their abiotic attributes based on the theory
that they are evolutionary source of all life.
Deals with questions concerning whose needs ought to matter in our management and
utilization of the natural resources, what sacrifices should those living at present make for
the sake of satisfying the needs of future generations.
We confine our ethical considerations to our interactions with people we have contact
with such as our family members, relatives, fellow students, co-workers or neighbors.
They are what we regard as members of our moral community. We may also extend the
coverage of our moral community to people who maybe strangers to us but living in this
present time.
This section will address the question: “Do future generations have moral standing?”,
Do we have moral obligations to people who are yet to exist?
Exponential growth of the human population if the human population results in the
rapid depletion of these resources leading to environmental problems such as decreasing
biodiversity, land, and soil degradation, deforestation, and destruction of natural habitats.
It also brings about other major environmental concerns such as increased production of
wastes, air and water pollution and global warming.
In this next category of issues, we will focus on the questions of what kind of beings
have moral value, how should we treat those living things that are nonhuman, what is our
moral obligations towards them, and how do we resolve conflicts that arise between
human interests and those of other living things.
Animal Rights
For advocates of animal welfare, being sentient should be the test for having
moral status, and not only being rational. Our moral standards should protect and
enhance the interests of sentient beings, especially to protect them from suffering.
Rapid forest loss has eliminated habitat for unique and threatened plant and
animal species. At the rate the forests are getting destroyed, many species may no
longer be around when we need them. The same is happening in almost all the forests
around the world.
Environmental Justice required that we respect and promote the right of everyone
to live in a clean and safe environment free from industrial waste pollution that can be
detrimental to their well-being. To pursue and promote environmental justice, thus, we
need to ensure that all people should be given by the government equal protection from
environmental hazards. The problem however, is that in various situations, the interests
of the poor and the minority are not being protected as environmental hazards are not
equitably distributed among groups and societies.
Ecofeminism
Is the position that argues that there are important connections--- historical,
experiential, symbolic, theoretical--- between the domination of women and domination
of the natural world.
One’s response to the question of how humans should relate to and manage
the environment is very influenced by the philosophical view one espouses.
This chapter discussed the four major philosophical perspectives regarding
the moral standing of the environment which serves as the basis of how one
sees human relationship to and treatment to the environment. According to
anthropocentrism, only humans have moral standing and thus our treatment
of the environment is based on how it serves the interest of humans. The
other three perspectives are non-anthropocentric. One of these is
sentientism which claims that, aside from humans, animals also have moral
standing because they are capable of feeling pain and pleasure. The second
perspective is biocentrism which asserts that all living things have moral
standing. The third non-anthropocentric view is ecocentrism which extends