Chapter 11 Environmental Ethics

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At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• Discuss environmental ethics and its theoretical frameworks


• Identify the major issues in environmental ethics
• Show care and advocacy for the environment

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.

Humans are part of nature and must


learn how to behave towards one other and
interact with the environment. There are three
distinct levels or systems of being in nature,
including social, biological and physical. Each
level or system of being obeys its own laws in
addition to other levels. “They are, in reverse
order: (a) the physical planet, its atmosphere,
hydrosphere (waters), and lithosphere (rocks
and soils), all of which obey the laws of physics
and chemistry; (b) the biosphere, all living species, which obey the laws of physics,
chemistry, biology and ecology; (c) the technosphere and sociosphere, the human created
world of buildings and machines, governments and economies, arts and religions and
cultures, which obey physical, chemical, biological and ecological laws, and also further
laws of human design.” (Connect, 1991). All environmental phenomena obey the same
underlying physical laws; therefore, they behave much the same everywhere, although
their complexity can lead to local variation.

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The world consists of elements, interconnections and a function or purpose. There
are a variety of world views of nature (Rai et al., 2010), but everything is connected in
some ways. Systems are organized into hierarchies, including natural systems, which are
finely tuned, stable and resilient. Diversity usually increases this resilience. For example,
matter cannot be created or destroyed, such as that the material of the planet stays on
the planet, undergoing continuous transformations, powered by the energy of the earth
and sun. The materials necessary for life – water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. – pass
through biogeochemical cycles that maintain the quantity and availability of these
materials for living organisms.

There are common rules to instruct human


behavior, as well as professional ethics for a range of
professions such as doctors (medical ethics), businesses
(business ethics), or teacher’s (teacher’s ethics), for
example. Environmental ethics is a system of values that
people express in relation to each other and to nature
(Stappand and Cox, 1979). Environmental ethics was
mentioned long time ago, for example, “Self-improving
to such an extent that being merged with heaven and
earth, in harmony with others means having morals”
Lao-tzu.

Modern western environmental ethics, a field of


applied ethics, can be traced back to the writings of Aldo Leopold (1949) who proposed a
“land ethic” that included human responsibilities within community to the ecosystem as a
whole (Bosworth et al., 2012). Interest in environmental ethics has been spurred on by
the growing environmental movement that reflects growing recognition in the limitations
of reductionist scientific methodology and technological approaches to dominate or control
the natural environment. Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring in 1963, brought
legitimate concerns regarding the long-term or indiscriminate use of certain pesticides to
the attention of the public. This initiated an era of investigative writing for the purpose of
awareness raising as a step-in instigating change in the public perception of the “cure all”
expectations of the 20th century scientific revolution.

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.

Contemporary environmental ethics is built upon diverse viewpoints (Bosworth et al.


(2012). In 1973, Arne Naess’s thinking initiated the deep ecology movement that strives
towards a biocentric approach where humans are perceived as merely a node or player
within the biotic community; the emphasis being placed upon the interdependency of all
organisms in the biosphere. Peter Singer wrote Animal Liberation in 1973 that urged
consideration of sentient animals within ethical frameworks, giving inspiration to the
animal rights movement. Holistic approaches to environmental concerns have gained
support in the Gaia hypothesis put forward by James Lovelock, which draws an analogy
between the cyclical changes within the biosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere of the
Earth and the homeostatic self-regulation of living organisms. During the 1980’s issues of
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environmental justice such the location of toxic waste disposal sites gained momentum as
civil rights groups highlighted the fact that poorer, possibly voiceless or minority groups
were frequently exposed to greater environmental hazards than affluent or powerful
communities. Since the 1990’s ecofeminism has stressed a link between the twin
oppressions of women and nature; abstract and universalist approaches are generally
rejected in favour of relationships founded on care, sensitivity and emotion. More recently
some psychologists such as David Kidner in Nature and Psyche (2001) have proposed a
link between deterioration in human psycho-sociological wellbeing and a growing
distancing from nature.

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.

-Anthropocentrism is premised on the idea that moral status lies on one’s


rationality. Humans are autonomous, capable of reasoning, and in particular of
reasoning about right and wrong. As such, human beings alone can enter into
agreements with and reciprocate one another. Nothing else has such capacities,
and since these are the capacities that underpin moral status, only humans have
moral status.

-Western Philosophical Traditions supports the anthropocentric view. Aristotle


spoke of nonhuman creation as a resource to serve human needs

-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

- Sentientism grounds moral status not on an individual’s rationality, but on the


individual’s sentience. Animals, like humans, can experience both pleasure and
pain, and that is a morally important fact.

- 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.

- For biocentrists, all organisms deserve to be considered as having moral worth.

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.

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Sustainability Issues

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.

Right 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?

Population and consumption

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.

Nonhuman Interest Issues

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

Do animals, like humans, deserve moral consideration? Do they have moral


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.

Legal Rights of Natural Objects

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.

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Environmental Justice Issues

These issues will focus on the problem of inequitable distribution of environmental


benefits and burdens and on how to ensure that no sectors in our society are
disproportionately.

Pollution and Toxic Wastes

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.

Ecofeminists envision to overcome certain dualisms, or what they call as binary


opposites that justify power—dominants over subordinates, masters over servants,
predators over prey, men over women, culture over nature, white over black, developed
nations over developing nations, civilized over primitive humans over animals.

Environmental ethics has become very relevant in today’s world as industrial


and technological development paved the way to various environmental
problems such as global warming, pollution, and the depletion of natural
resources. How humans should treat the non-human world which includes
plants, animals, forests and rivers, has been seriously given attention as
more and more evidences show that the destruction of the environment can
be largely attributed by the human actions. The relevance of environmental
ethics today has led to the establishment of academic programs being offered
in various educational institutions. Journals, textbooks, and monographs
have been produced to educate people on the proper management of the
environment and its various components.

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

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moral standing to ecosystems consisting of communities of living organisms
in conjunction with non-living components.

To see how these philosophical perspectives affect human actions and


policies regarding the environment, we looked into various ethical issues
which we categorized into three areas: The first area is on sustainability
issues which deal with questions pertaining to whose needs should matter in
our management of natural resources and how we can balance economic
growth and environmental preservation. The issues on the rights of future
generations and on the impact of population and consumption were tackled
here. The second category pertains to non-human-interest issues which
focus on the question of what is the basis (if any) of our moral obligations
towards non-human beings. Included in this category are issues pertaining
to animal rights, moral standing of living things, and the legal rights of
natural objects. Lastly, environmental justice issues deal with matters
concerning the inequitable distribution of environmental benefits and
burdens. We discussed here the problems of pollution and toxic wastes and
the issues raised by ecofeminism.

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