Environmental Ethics (Contributions to the Development of Environmental Ethics as a Discipline

Environmental Ethics

1. ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS

2. A. DEFINITION
AND ORIGIN

3. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Itisdefinedasthedisciplinein
philosophywhichdealswiththe
moralrelationshipofhuman
beingstoandalsothevalueand
moralstatusof,theenvironment
anditsnon-humancontents.

4. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Itdealswiththediscussionof
instrumentalandintrinsicvalues
oftheenvironment.
Instrumentalwhenitsimportanceis
associatedtomeetingman’s
needs.Intrinsicwhenitpertainsto
theveryreasonfortheexistenceof
athing.

5. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Intheenvironmentforexample,
atreehastheintrinsicvalueof
maintainingthebalanceofnature
whileitsinstrumentalvaluesare
thepurposesforwhichatreeis
beingcutandmeethumanneeds.

6. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Themistakeofancientwestern
ethicalperspectivesistogivetoo
muchemphasisontheintrinsic
valueofhumanpersonmorethan
anyotherthings.
Thisviewmakesahuman
personthecenterofimportancefor
everyactanddecisions.

7. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Anthropocentrism
Anydisregardtonon-human
thingsisjustifiableifitisforthe
promotionofhumaninterests.

8. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Anthropocentrism
Thisphilosophyisfurtheraggravated
byAristotle’sbeliefthat“naturehas
madeallthingsspecificallyforthe
sakeofman”.
Thisphilosophicalpositionlends
credencetonon-humannatureaslower
inimportancethanhumanperson.

9. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Intheearly70s,environmental
ethicsemergedasanewsub-discipline
ofphilosophy.
Itchallengedthetraditional
anthropocentricview of the
environmentwhileintroducinganew
philosophicalapproachknownas
prudentialanthropocentrism.

10. A. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Prudential
Anthropocentrism
allthemoraldutieswehave
towardstheenvironmentare
derivedfromourdirectdutiestoits
humaninhabitants

11. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Thepurposeofenvironmental
ethicsistoprovidemoralgrounds
forlegislationintendedto
protecttheenvironment.

12. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN
Asasub-discipline,itwas
greatlyinfluencedbythethinking
and rethinkingon the
“populationboom”andthe
massive food production
creatingasimultaneousproblem
onenvironmentandpublic
health.

13. B.Several thinkers and
professionals contributed
to the development of
environmental ethics as a
discipline…

14. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
1.PaulEhrlich’s“population
bomb”
-encouragesrevisitingthe
relationshipofmanwiththe
environment.Itlooksatthe
populationgrowthasathreat.
The “populationbomb”
encourageshumanitytoadopt
measurestoneutralizetheeffects
ofpopulationincreasetothe
economyandtheenvironment.

15. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
1.PaulEhrlich’s“population
bomb”
Italsotreatsthethinkingon
humansuperiorityovernon-
humanthings,andthemoral
ascendancyofmantouse
everythingaroundhimforhisown
purpose as cause for
environmentaldestructionand
furtherjustifiesman’suncontrolled
useoftheenvironment.

16. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
1.PaulEhrlich’s“population
bomb”
Thesethoughtsmadedifficult
anyattempttocomeupwithone
philosophytoprotectandpreserve
theenvironment.

17. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
1.PaulEhrlich’s“population
bomb”
Thereisaneedtoprotectthe
environmentwhichrequires
changesinthevaluesandgoalsof
individuals.
Theneedforthechangein
valuesofmangaveimpetusto
the development of
environmentalethicsasanew
sub-discipline.

18. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
2.“LandEthics”byLeopold
“thelandisacommunity
andthebasicconceptof
ecology,butthelandisto
belovedandrespected,is
anextensionofethics”

19. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
2.“LandEthics”byLeopold
TheideaofLeopoldisan
objectofmoralconcernwhich
stimulatedwriterstoarguefor
certainmoralobligation
towardecologicalwholesuch
asspecies,communities,and
ecosystem.

20. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
3.HolmesRolstonIII
arguedthatspecies
protectionwasamoral
duty.

21. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
4.ChristopherStoneoftheUniversity
ofSouthernCaliforniain1972,
proposedthattreesandothernatural
objectsshouldhaveatleastthe
samestandinginlawascorporation.
Iftreeswouldbegivenlegal
personalityinlaw,theywouldbe
representedingroupsconcernedwith
theenvironment.

22. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AS A
DISCIPLINE
Theseargumentsandthe
warningsofscientistsconvinced
thephilosophersandpolitical
theoriststofocusonthestudyof
theenvironment.

23. C.THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
MOVEMENTS

24. 1. Environmental realism vs
Environmental Fundamentalism
Therealistsbelieveforthereforminthe
treatmentoftheenvironment.Theybelieved
thatthereisaneedtostrikethebalance
betweenenvironmentprotectionandthe
needofthegovernmentandbusinesssector
toachieveeconomic growthand
development.
Itmeansprotectingtheenvironment
whileatthesametimeworktominimizethe
impactofpollutionanddepletionofnatural
resources.

25. 1. Environmental realism vs
Environmental Fundamentalism
Thefundamentalistsadvocatedamore
radicalchangeinthetreatmentofthe
environmentchangingtheprioritieseven
discardingtheideologyofcapitalismand
liberalindividualismwhichwereconsidered
astheideologicalcausesofanthropogenic
environmentaldevastation.

26. 2.Shallow vs Deep
Environmental Movements
DeepEcologicalmovement was
spearheadedbyArneNess,SigmundKvaloy
andNilsFaarlundwhoregardedmountains
andotherformsofnaturalthingsassacred
andmanshouldnotmakemoneyoutof
them.

27. 2.Shallow vs Deep
Environmental Movements
DeepEcologicalmovement gives
intrinsicvaluetoallthingsintheenvironment
regardlessoftheirusefulnesstoothers.It
propagatedthealternativerelational“total
fieldimageoftheworld”,treating
everythinginaknot.
Themovementconvincespeoplethat
manisrelatedtotheenvironmentandtaking
careoftheenvironmentisprotectingoneself
andidentifiedman’segowiththe
environment.

28. 2.Shallow vs Deep
Environmental Movements
Shallowenvironmentalmovement
concentratesonthefightagainstpollution
andthefocusoftheirmovementisthehealth
andaffluenceofpeopleinthedeveloped
country.

29. 3.Environmental feminism as a
movement
Thismovementbelievesthatpatriarchal
modes ofthinkingcontributedto
environmentaldestruction.Thatmanystudies
showedthepatriarchalsocietyissupported
byfourpillarsof:sexism,racism,class
exploitation,andecologicaldestruction.
Themovementbelievesthatmale
dominationofwomenistraditionallyregarded
astheultimateoppressionfromwhichother
oppressionsaroseincludingoppressionof
nature.

30. 3.Environmental feminism as a
movement
Thefeministmovementrepresentsa
radicalchallengeforenvironmentalthinking,
politics,andtraditionalethicalperspectives.It
linkstheissueongenderequalitytoother
formsofsocialissuesandproblems.

31. 4. Disenchantment and the New
Animism
MarkHorkheimerandTeodoreAdorno
broughtabouttheneo-MarxistFrankfurt
schoolofcriticaltheory.
Thismovementmodifiedtheclassical
Marxistperspectiveontheenvironment,
treatingresourceassubjecttohuman
behaviorsoastotransformitforhuman
purposes.Itutilizesthenarrowpositivist
conceptionofrationalityastheultimate
justificationfor“disenchanting”nature.

32. 4. Disenchantment and the New
Animism
AdornoandHorkheimerproposeda
differentapproachtoseeingnaturenotonly
asasubjectofourrationalfacultiesandan
exchangevalue.
Theyarguedthatnaturehasalwaysan
“excess”importanceotherthanmateriality
andpurposeforwhichman’sreasoncouldbe
identified.Thereismoretonaturethanits
materialvalue.Thenature’saestheticvalue
isare-enchantmentofhumanlivesand
purpose.

33. 4. Disenchantment and the New
Animism
Thenewanimismmodifiestheclassical
animismofregardingnatureasthings
havingsoulsfoundinanimals,plants,and
othermaterialobjectswhichmadethem
entitledtospiritualceremony,andotherform
ofreverencecontrarytotheprincipleof
disenchantingpositivismwhichtreatsnature
asobjectofman’sneedsandcanbe
transformedforhumanpurpose.

34. 4. Disenchantment and the New
Animism
Thenewanimismarguesthatthereisa
needtore-conceptualizetheboundary
betweenmanandtheenvironment.Forthe
believersofthisphilosophy,“livingnature”
comprisesnotonlyhumans,animals,and
plantsbutalsomountainsforests,rivers,
deserts,andevenplants.

35. Thank you for listening!