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Environmental

Ethics

Thomas Zhang

16/12/2019

What is Environmental Ethics?

  • The branch of environmental philosophy which studies the ethics behind the relationship between human and nature.

What is environmental ethics?

My Thesis:

Thesis

- Good people can act in non-environmental ways because certain ethical theories do not equate moral goodness to sustainability.

Damage Humans has caused the environment:

Damage caused by human

Deforestation

Deforestation

Water Pollution

Water Pollution

Air Pollution

Air Pollution

History of environmental ethics

  • First earth day in April 22, 1970.
  • William Blackstone organized first environmental philosophy conference at University of Georgia in 1972

History

  • Arnes Naess published: "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement" in 1973 to start the deep ecology movement.
  • In 1990, the International Society for Environmental Ethics was established.

History (Continued)

  • In 1992, the environmental ethics journal: Environmental Values published its first issue.
  • In 1996, the University of Georgia established the first university-based environmental ethics journal: Ethics and the Environment.

History (Continued)

  • In 1997, the second international environmental ethics organization: International Association of Environmental Philosophy was created. It published a journal called Environmental Philosophy.

Environment Ethics Theories

Questions to consider:

Ethical Theories

1. How and why is the environment valuable?

2. What makes an action 'right' or 'wrong'?

Levels of Anthropocentrism

Traditional Anthropocentrism:

  • Assign greater foundational value to humans over non-humans.

Prudential anthropocentrism:

  • Moral duties we have towards the environment is derived from our direct duties to ourselves/other humans.

Antropocentrism

Cynical anthropocentrism:

  • Greater foundational value assigned to the environment than ourselves/other humans.

Foundational Vs Instrumental Value

Instrumental value - Important as a means to create more valuable goods.

Foundational vs Instrumental Values

Foundational value - Important as an end in itself.

Environmental ethics argue:

We need to protect the environment because . . .

  • Environmental sustainability is essential for human survival.

How should we value the environment?

  • Certain elements of nature has its own foundational values, therefore subject to moral considerations.

Key points to consider:

- Consequentialist theories are more concerned about the 'disvalue'/'value' of certain acts.

- Disvalue = wrong

- Valuable = right

Consequentialist

Tyranny of the Contemporary

  • Current generation exploit future generations by overusing resources to benefit themselves in the present, leaving catastrophic reparations for future generations to deal with.

Tyranny of the Contemporary

Utilitarian Approach

Utilitarians believe:

- Pleasure is the only fundamentally good value. (Pleasure = Value)

- Pain is the only fundamentally bad value. (Pain = Disvalue)

Utilitarianism

Points to consider:

  • Only sentient beings have fundamental value.
  • Non-human sentient beings are fundamentally less valuable.
  • Non-sentient being's value comes from its instrumental value for the pleasure of sentient beings.

Conclusion

Because utilitarian theories aims to maximum pleasure for all sentient beings over pain . . . a utilitarian is not necessarily an environmentalist.

Conclusion

Deontological Approach

Deontologists believe:

  • The 'rightness' and 'wrongness' of the act in justified by foundational moral duties (Ross's seven duties).

Deontologist

Key points to consider:

  • Justice vs Beneficence

- *Also beneficence to present vs future society.

  • Reparations for damage done.

Biocentrism

Ethical theory developed by Paul Taylor in 1981.

  • Biocentrists believes that life itself should be recognized for generating moral significance.

Biocentrism

  • Every living thing has its own foundational value which generates a prima facie moral duty for humans to promote/protect their interest as a end in itself.
  • Therefore, treating any living organism as a mere means would be morally wrong.

Survey Data Analysis

Age:

Age

On a scale of 1-10, how well informed are you about current environmental issues?

Q1

Choose 3 of the following environmental issues are you most familiar with?

Q2

On a scale of 1-10, how often do you recycle?

Q3

Do you use reusable bags when shopping for groceries?

Q4

Why would you pick up after others/yourself? *Pick your most important reason.

Q5

Would you pay more for electricity generated by a renewable source?

Q6

Do you donate to green organizations?

Q7

Do you believe global warming is a human-caused problem?

Q8

Do you think animals should have same rights as humans?

Q9

Is being sustainable comfortable?

Q10

The survey showed . . .

  • Most people have a basic understanding of recycling.
  • In general people are more biased for protecting future environment.

Conclusion

  • Most people value environmental sustainability.
  • Overall, my data shows that people believe in altruistic acts towards improving the future environment.

Conclusion

  • Environmental moral goodness does not directly equal consequential or deontological goodness.

Conclusion

  • However, deontological theory of Biocentrism and consequentialist theory of Tyranny of the Contemporary gives consideration to environmental morality.

Sources

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