5. Environmental Ethics Flashcards
Factory Farms
- Intensive animal-raising agricultural operations; Large farms that raise a lot of animals in small spaces to produce as much as possible, often causing significant air and water pollution.
Ethics/ Ethical
- The branch of philosophy dealing with morality, or, questions of right and wrong human action in the world.
Environmental Justice
- A principle, as well as a body of thought and research, stressing the need for equitable distribution of environmental goods (parks, clean air, healthful working conditions) and environmental bads (pollution, hazards, waste) between people, no matter their race, ethnicity, or gender. Conversely, environmental
injustice describes a condition where unhealthful or dangerous conditions are disproportionately proximate to minority communities. - The idea that everyone, no matter their race, ethnicity, or gender, should have equal access to clean and safe environments.
(Environmental injustice happens when pollution and hazards are unfairly placed near minority communities.)
Dominion Thesis
- Arising from the Book of Genesis, the dominion thesis states that humans are the pinnacle of creation; as such, humans are granted ethical free rein to use nature in any way deemed beneficial.
- This idea comes from the Bible (Book of Genesis) and says that humans are the highest part of creation. Because of this, humans are allowed to use nature however they think is useful or beneficial to them.
(humans are separate from and superior to nature, and that nature’s value depends on its usefulness to humans.)
Stewardship
- Taking responsibility for the property or fate of others; stewardship of land and natural
resources is often used in a religious context, such as “caring for creation. - Stewardship means taking care of something that belongs to someone else. In a religious sense, it means humans have a duty to care for the Earth and protect nature because it is seen as part of God’s creation.
Anthropocentrism
- An ethical standpoint that views humans as the central factor in considerations of right and wrong action are made based on what benefits humans the most (different from ecocentrism, which values all parts of nature equally).
Utilitarian
- An ethical theory that posits that the value of a good should be judged solely (or at least primarily) by its usefulness to society; following the eighteenth–nineteenth-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, usefulness
is equated with maximizing pleasure or happiness and minimizing pain and
suffering. - An ethical idea that says something is good if it is useful and helps make people happier or reduces their suffering. It focuses on actions that bring the greatest happiness to the most people, following the ideas of philosopher Jeremy Bentham.
Gifford Pinchot vs. John Muir in Yosemite, California
Key Points:
Pinchot = Conservation (wise resource use, utilitarian approach)
Muir = Preservation (protect nature for its own sake, spiritual value)
Main conflict = Hetch Hetchy Dam project ( to build a dam across the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley, located inside Yosemite National Park in California. The goal was to create a large reservoir to supply drinking water and hydroelectric power to the rapidly growing city of San Francisco.)
Conservation vs. Preservation became a lasting divide in environmentalism
Conservation vs Preservation
- Conservation The management of a resource or system to sustain its productivity over time, typically associated with scientific management of collective goods like fisheries or forests (compare to preservation).
- Preservation The management of a resource or environment for protection and preservation, typically for its own sake, as in wilderness preservation (compare to conservation)
Simplified: Conservation is managing a resource, like forests or fisheries, to make sure it keeps providing benefits over time, often using science to guide how it’s used. Preservation is protecting a resource or environment, like wilderness, to keep it safe and unchanged, usually for its own value, not for human use. Conservation focuses on sustainable use, while preservation focuses on protecting nature from use.
Ecology
The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and the habitat or
ecosystem in which they live
Ecocentrism
- is an environmental ethical stance that prioritizes ecological concerns above human interests when making decisions about right and wrong actions. It emphasizes the importance of ecosystems, biodiversity, and the environment as a whole, rather than focusing solely on human needs or desires (in contrast to anthropocentrism, which centers on human interests).
Moral Extensionism
An ethical principle stating that humans should extend their sphere of moral concern beyond the human realm; most commonly, it is argued that intelligent or sentient animals are worthy ethical subjects.
(is the idea that humans should care about more than just other humans. It suggests that we should also consider the well-being of animals)
“The Land Ethic” by Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” is an ecocentric perspective in which it advocates for for a shift in how humans view their relationship with nature, urging us to see ourselves as part of a larger ecological community rather than as its conquerors. He argues that traditional ethics, which focus only on human relationships, should be expanded to include the land, animals, and ecosystems. Leopold suggests that actions are right when they preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the natural world and wrong when they harm it. This ecocentric view promotes environmental stewardship and moral responsibility, emphasizing the need to protect ecosystems for the benefit of all living things, not just humans.
Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” calls for an ecocentric moral shift, urging humans to see themselves as members of a broader ecological community and to act in ways that preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the natural world.
Animal Liberation
- Named after Peter Singer’s groundbreaking 1975 book, a radical social movement that aims to free all animals from use by humans, whether those uses are for food, medical testing, industry, personal adornment, entertainment or anything else.
- Animal Liberation is a movement that seeks to free all animals from being used by humans for purposes like agriculture, medical testing, industry, clothing, entertainment, or any other use.
- Singer argued that ethical decisions should prioritize the elimination of suffering for all sentient beings, not just humans.
Deep Ecology:
- Arne Naess
- A philosophy of environmental ethics that distances itself from “shallow” or mainstream environmentalism by arguing for a
“deeper” and supposedly more truly
ecologically-informed view of the world.
Deep Ecology: A philosophy that goes beyond mainstream environmentalism, advocating for a deeper, more ecologically-aware perspective on the world.
Deep Ecology vs. Shallow Ecology
While shallow ecology focuses on solving specific environmental issues like pollution, deep ecology addresses the root causes of ecological problems, offering a broader critique of human society’s relationship with nature. Key to deep ecology are “self-realization,” the idea that individuals must recognize their interconnectedness with all life, and “ecocentrism,” where the self expands beyond the human to include all of nature.
Intrinsic Value
- The value of a natural object (e.g., an owl or a stream) in and for itself, as an end rather than a means.
- Intrinsic value means that something is valuable just because it exists, not because it serves a purpose for humans. For example, a stream has worth on its own, regardless of what humans might use it for.
Holism
- Any theory that holds that a whole system (e.g., an “ecosystem” or the Earth) is more than the sum of its
parts. - The idea that a system (like an ecosystem or the Earth) is more than just a collection of its parts. The whole system has properties or functions that can’t be fully explained just by looking at its individual components.
Naturalistic Fallacy
-A philosophically invalid derivation of an ethical “ought” from a natural “is”
- The mistake of saying that something is morally right or wrong just because it is the way things naturally are. It’s wrong to assume that just because something exists in nature, it should be considered morally acceptable.
The naturalistic fallacy is a philosophically invalid derivation that wrongly assumes what’s natural is automatically morally right.
Scientism
- Usually deployed as a term of derision; refers to an uncritical reliance on the natural sciences as the basis for social decision-making and ethical judgments
- A belief or approach that overly depends on science, especially the natural sciences, to make decisions about social issues or ethical judgments. It often ignores other valuable ways of knowing, like philosophy or human experience.
Social Ecology- who
- A school of thought and set of social movements, associated with
the thinker Murray Bookchin, asserting that environmental problems and crises are rooted in typical social structures and relationships, since these tend to be
hierarchical, state-controlled, and
predicated on domination of both
people and nature. - A theory, developed by Murray Bookchin, that suggests environmental problems are caused by the way societies are structured. In particular, it focuses on how hierarchies and systems of domination in society lead to both the oppression of people and the exploitation of nature.
Peter Kropotkin argued that
- SocialEcology: As long as society is built on hierarchy and oppression, people will continue to exploit both nature and each other. He believes that true environmnetal protection is only possible in a fair and equal society, where domination is eliminated. Without social justice, efforts to stop environmental destruction will always fall short.
John Locke- Social Contract Theory
John Locke’s Social Contract Theory argues that individuals consent to form a government to protect their natural rights—life, liberty, and property—sacrificing some freedoms in return for security. He believed that if a government fails to protect these rights or becomes oppressive, the people have the right to overthrow it.
John Locke’s Social Contract Theory says people agree to form a government to protect their basic rights—life, liberty, and property—and can overthrow it if it fails to do so or becomes oppressive.
Summarize the chapter
The chapter explores key environmental ethical concepts, beginning with animal liberation, which advocates for freeing animals from human use, contrasting with anthropocentrism, which places humans at the center of moral concern. It discusses conservation versus preservation, emphasizing the protection of ecosystems and species. Deep ecology and ecocentrism promote the idea that nature has intrinsic value and should be protected, regardless of human benefit. The dominion thesis suggests humans have control over nature, while stewardship focuses on responsible care. Moral extensionism argues for extending moral concern beyond humans to animals and ecosystems. The chapter critiques scientism (uncritical reliance on science for ethical decisions) and the naturalistic fallacy (deriving “ought” from “is”). Social ecology links environmental issues to hierarchical social structures. Topics like factory farms, utilitarianism, holism, and wilderness further highlight the ethical dimensions of human-environment interactions and the pursuit of environmental justice.
