Ethics of nature Flashcards
Nature in Western philosophy (5 views)
- Western approach = nature is outside of/different from us. Need to analyse as seperate, sciences
1. Hippocrates: nature is an organized space and we can understand the laws of nature through scientific study, we can organize and classify nature
a) Materialist view - we can dominate nature
2. Descartes - As the only rational beings, Descartes saw humans as wholly separate from and superior to nature and nonhuman animals, who were considered mere mindless machines to be mastered and exploited at will. Descartes’ work was hugely influential in shaping modern conceptions of science and human and animal identities in Western society.
3. Bacon - For Bacon, man is superior to nature. But man is also alienated from nature. Nature is harsh and unforgiving and something that needs to be conquered. Rather than seeing man as part of the web of nature, Bacon sees man as existing in a natural empire.
4. Rousseau * We come from the state of nature where there are no connections, no organization, etc. and we create society and the social contract. Nature is a positive thing and the state of nature is good → freedom. We fear nature but also respect it as a place where there is a certain degree of freedom
5. Descola: We make a clear distinction between nature and culture in Western philosophy → present in arts, science, political thinking, religion
Other philosophies of nature
- Animism: humans and nonhumans have the seem interiority, there is an equality between us and nature. Animist societies have lots of metamorphosis between man and animal in their mythology. Animism is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and perhaps even words—as animated and alive
- Totemism: we all have the same soul and the same physical attributes; strong equality between all that is human and nonhuman. You’ll have hybrids between plants, men, animals, etc. A system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol.
- Naturalism: difference in interiority but same exteriors. A theory that relates scientific method to philosophy by affirming that all beings and events in the universe (whatever their inherent character may be) are natural. Consequently, all knowledge of the universe falls within the pale of scientific investigation
- Analogism: discontinuity of interiorities and of physical attributes; all humans and nonhumans are weird combinations of essences that are different from each other, but are still very equal
The moral value of nature
- The opposition between nature and culture: nature is a place for peace and personal thinking; cities are places for corruption of mind, body, and soul. Industrial Revolution emphasized this with health issues → confirmed thoughts of cities as corrupting places. Celebration of nature as a place for introspection and personal thinking/work.
- Rosseau = nature as a place of real freedom, social contract is a different type of freedom that’s different from original freedom. Man is born originally good and was corrupted by society. 1. Rousseau - nature is a reflection of the soul; by thinking in natural spaces you’ll learn more about yourself and the meaning of life
The US and philosophy of nature
- US - First settlers, Roderick Nash (Wilderness and the American Mind)
1. When the first settlers arrived, they viewed nature as a hostile place → you go to nature and you die → they wanted to dominate/control/evangelize nature.
2. American naturalism is rooted in the idea of nature as a place to conquer by religious means as well. Natural ethics never left the religious aspect behind
3. Whitman and transcendentalists → more about the religion of nature than the moral value of nature
a) Nature is a mystical experience; it’s where you go to find God
4. Thoreau - Walden Pond - wrote extensively about his experience with nature at Walden. K. The core concept of Thoreau: wilderness → you have to be wild. Describes nature, the different seasons, and landscapes, but still presents nature as a creation of God → can’t separate the philosophical experience of nature from the religious experience. J. Thoreau criticizes the materialism of American society → nature forces you to abandon the fake comfort that the city and state provides.
5. Nature is a place where the savage is → the Indian but also as a value. You become rebellious by going to nature
6. The political meaning of nature - this is where you learn rebellion, independence, and to criticize what you see in the city. This is where Thoreau got his ideas of civil disobedience. Nature is a place of real individual freedom where you escape subjugation by the state - Thoreau
Ethics of conservation
- Religious aspects, a similar approach to nature between Europe and North America
- Scientific publications in America showed that nature is endangered and there is degradation caused by humans and human society. Rising awareness created concern over the fragility and sustainability of American natural places – led to the creation of Yellowstone
- George Perkins Marsh - Man and Nature - the book was one of the first studies of the relations between societies and nature
1. Humans contribute to the deterioration of natural cycles around them
2. The contemporary capitalistic model is unsustainable - says that in 1864
3. Recommends that the relationship between man and nature needs to stop being a relationship of predation; advocates for a harmonious environment for the living
4. Why do some people think that it is the Earth who has made man, it is man who has actually made the Earth
5. Work was well known by policymakers
6. Advocated for protection of the Earth, one of the early thinkers of sustainability
*A. Marsh got political leaders to take action to protect the Earth → they didn’t want to fight industrialization so they protected certain portions of the US → natural parks system
Marsh vs Muir, US : convervation vs preservation
E. John Muir - big fan of Thoreau, creation of Yosemite, Sierra Club
1. Strong relationship with Roosevelt, got Teddy to aid with natural parks
2. Advocates for protecting natural parks as nature is one of God’s creations; national parks were reflections of American national identity → reflect founding values of America, so choose areas that best represent what America is
3. Colonial aspect of national parks: green colonialism: we’re taking ownership over these places that previously belonged to the indigenous peoples
F. Since nature is a creation of God and a representation of the national identity, we shouldn’t touch it → ultimate preservationist
G. Gifford Pinchot advocated for preservation of natural spaces as resources that we can use, even if we intend to protect them. He did believe in the unsustainable use of resources in the US but thought it would be too rigid to forbid any economic activity within those sites
1. Muir did not fuck with Pinchot → thought he was advocating for degradation of the environment
H. Muir - preservationist: don’t touch nature, should protect it for its moral, political and religious value
I. Pinchot - conservationist; nature should be utilized in a sustainable way; nature has no moral, political, religious value
J. Conservationists won. US Forest Service became largest environmental protection/management agency before EPA
Conservationism and Romanticism, Europe
IV. The protection of natural heritage or “Patrimoine”
A. Europe had a very different trajectory than the US at the time of the conservationist v. preservationist debate
B. Europe has a large concept of the protection of natural heritage → romanticism → nature is a place for freedom, where you can freely express your feelings and freely experience introspection
1. Based more on individual perspective of nature reather tahn a religious or transcendental approach
a) More secular approach → nature is a place to think about the meaning of life and our collective experience
C. Romantics have a large focus on the idea of personal experience with nature and nature as a source of moral teachings on the human condition
1. Celebration of nature in the same way that there is a celebration of individuality
D. Romanticisim was at the coreof the first attempts in France to protect certain areas from destruction
1. Wasn’t connected to nature at the beginning → more just tryin to protect certain sites that represent the french nation → very culturally centered project
a) Emphasis placed on architectural heritage, not natural heritage
b) But some cultural monuments were in teh middle of natural sites, so the natural site got protected at the same time
c) Idea was to protect those areas and hand them off to future generations → present in Europe in general, not just France
E. French protact natural spots because they want to protect its cultural value, and resources, and because they have heritage of that site and want to hand it down to future generations
F. Impacted how the French think about the protection of natural sites globally → France and US greatly impacted UNESCO and the World Heritage list
G. Merimée and Viollet-le-duc - two key names
H. French and European policy is one of patrimony of nature → socieeties must protect and enhance what they can of nature, and must ensure its proper transferral to future generations
1. The state has been considered as the ideal protector of heritage in France/Europe
