Environmental Ethics

Question 1

What is Environmental Philosophy and Environmental Ethics?

Answer 1

Environmental philosophy
* A branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural
environment and humans’ place within it.
* How we look at the world and conceptualize the environments

Environmental ethics
* The discipline in environ. philosophy that studies the moral
relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral
status of, the environment and its non-human contents.
* The moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior

Question 2

What is the Judeo-Christian Tradition?

Answer 2

• Rejection of animism: belief that every part of the environment has
  consciousness or spirit and therefore deserves deep respect
• Rejection of pantheism: deities of natural objects of
  processes; nature is sacred and needs to be respected. * Wilderness is cursed: pastoral-type landscapes are holy
• The sacred is beyond this world: Earth is devalued in
  favour of heavily hopes
• Domination of nature: God commands humans to “fill the Earth and subdue it; and have dominion over
  the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and
  over every living thing…”
• Judeo-Christian tradition believes
  that humans are separate from
  nature and superior to it

Question 3

What is instrumental value vs intrinsic value?

Answer 3

Instrumental value (aka use value):
The value an object has as a means to an end.
Examples:
- Teachers have instrumental value to students.
- Fruits have instrumental value for animals who feed on them.
Intrinsic value (aka existence value):
The value an object has “in itself” or “for its own sake”.
Examples:
- We normally say that a person has intrinsic value as a person.
- It is not as clear whether a fruit by itself has value.
13*

Question 4

What is Anthropocentric and Ecocentric?

Answer 4

Anthropocentric: Human centered; The environment should be protected because of its usefulness to humans or because we care about our continued existence.
Ecocentric: Nature centered; The environment should be protected because non-human
nature has an inherent right to exist. It does not depend on humans to give it value.

Question 5

What is Domination( Anthroponce) idea in this philophy scope?

Answer 5

Nature exists solely to serve humans and
only has instrumental value
* Nature exists as a store of resources for
human’s use, and as a sink for human
environmental impacts
* Environmental resources and extraction
are only technical issues—question is how
to extract rather than should we extract.

Challenges
Only values nature for what it provides
to human.
* Does not consider biophysical
constraints of
the planet.
* Suggests we should only protect what
is valuable to us.

Question 6

What is Stewardship ( Anthropocentric)

Answer 6

Nature is complicated; most resources are limited or exhaustible and these limits are important. * Humans rely on the existence of a functioning ecosystem* Humans have a moral obligation to be stewards,
protectors, or managers of nature. * To manage nature properly, humans must develop
some understanding of the environment.

Challenges:
Still strongly anthropocentric view. * Views humans as the owner or tenant of the
planet * Suggests that there is some hierarchy

Question 7

What is Conservation

Answer 7

Views land and wilderness to have intrinsic value. Appreciation of things “natural, wild and free”
* Asserts that a lack of regard for the land has caused most of our
environmental problems
* Involves protecting, preserving and
managing the natural environment.

Challenges:
Still separates human from nature; Does not account for a planet constantly in flux

Question 8

What is Deep ecology?

Answer 8

Humans are an integral part of the Earth systemrather than separate from it. * Deeply rooted in intrinsic value and interspecies equity
* The biospheric egalitarianism of deep ecology is in
contrast to the “fight is against pollution and resource
depletion” of shallow ecology. * “Richness and diversity of life forms” is an inherent goal.
Humans can only reduce this richness to satisfy “vital
needs”. * Promotes deep environmental consciousness and a spiritual
connection with the environment. * Requires fundamental changes in the structure and values of our society.

Question 9

What are the indigenous perspective in Care Ethics?

Answer 9

1. Importance of awareness of one’s place in a web of different connections (incl. humans, non-human beings and entities, collectives)
2. Understand moral connections as involving relationships of
   interdependence that motivate reciprocal responsibilities
3. Give value to certain skills and virtues (e.g., the wisdom of elders,
   attentiveness to the environment, indigenous stewardship practices)4. Seek to restore people and communities who are wounded5. Fight for political autonomy and the right to serve as responsible stewards of lands and the environmental quality on which both their physical and cultural survival depends on.