What are environmental ethics and whats your role in saving. Deontological environmental ethics environmental responsibility. Jun 12, 2019 environmental ethics has become an established subject of philosophy in recent decades in response to the contemporary environmental crisis. Philosophy 2300 environmental ethics covered the philosophy of the environment from the perspective of kantian deontology, utilitarianism, and rawlsian social justice theory.
This field has given a new dimension to the topics of conservation of natural resources and protection of the environment. Dec 18, 2012 singer states that if a nonhuman animal would be able to follow his framework of utilitarianism then it should lead to moral extensionism. Christian diehm, page 3 finding a niche for species in nature ethics, ethics and the environment 17, no. From the moment it was born, environmental ethics has been an area in which different ideas. While numerous philosophers have written on this topic throughout history, environmental ethics only developed into a specific philosophical discipline in the 1970s. I argue i for all living organisms, there is a nonzero probability of sentience and consciousness, and ii we cannot justify excluding beings from consideration on the basis of uncertainty of their sentience, etc. The traditional approach to rights and moral status is anthropocentric in so far as it restricts moral considerations to human beings.
The topics discussed were the moral circle, humanism, anthropocentrism, moral extensionism animal rights, the land ethic, and environmental justice. Ethical extensionism1 ethical extensionism is an approach to environmental and animal ethics in which the scope of ethical theories is extended to cover beings traditionally thought to fall outside the purview of those theories. Ethics are typically defined as the rules or standards governing the. Environmental ethics deals with our moral obligations to the world around us. The basic strategy of extensionist ethics is to argue that certain widely shared moral beliefs require us, in light of the principle of universalizability, to extend moral. Abstract this paper addresses the problem of extending ethical obligations. As traditionally understood, the dominant moral theories in western philosophy. And obviously, environmental ethics takes up ethics in considering what moral obligations humans have to nonhuman nature. The essays collected in the peace of nature and the nature of peace consider connections between ecology, environmental ethics, nonviolence, and philosophy of peace. Ethics assumes that the standards exist and seeks to describe them, evaluate them, or evaluate the premises upon which those standards exist. Keller, 9781405176385, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. An example of ethical extensionism would be to extend to dogs. In the area of morals and ethics, people cannot exercise moral judgment without being given a choice. Principles of utilitarianism should apply to all nonhuman animals.
The result is a set of facets, key categories and features that offer an integrated and synoptic view of how ecocentric environmental education eee could be based on ecophilosophical principles. The anthropocentric perception is widespread and is considered to be responsible for severeenvironmental crisis ranging from global warming, ozone depletion and water scarcity to the loss ofbiological diversity. According to the principle of moral extensionism, human beings should consider environmental issues as an area of moral concern rather than regarding the them purely from the standpoint of utility to humans. Worldviews sets of basic beliefs, images and understandings that shape how we see the world around us. As a field of study, it assumes that humans have certain responsibilities to the natural world, and it seeks to help people and their leaders become aware of them and to act responsibly when they do things that impact the natural world. Extensionism in environmental ethics chapter 8 defending. This paper aims to provide an overview of the key theories and concepts and critically evaluate the extent of their application in tourism studies. By classical accounts, ethics is people relating to people in justice and love. Penultimate draft encyclopedia of environmental ethics and. Environmental ethics humans, body, water, earth, life. Edited by andrew fiala, this book includes essays written by important scholars in the field of peace studies, pacifism, and nonviolence, including michael allen fox, andrew fitzgibbon, bill gay, and others. Environmental ethics takes up aesthetics insofar as it concerns questions about the beauty of nature. Ecophilosophical principles for an ecocentric environmental. Environmental ethics for tourism the state of the art.
This is where the field of ethics is broken down into descriptive ethics, normative ethics and. Unesco eolss sample chapters environment and development vol. Although kinship arguments provide for the moral standing and thus the possible preservation of some species, they do so only by analogy with human capacities or specific differences. Regarding the latter most, we will examine intrinsic value approaches to environmental ethics, instrumental value approaches to environmental ethics, and finally, a few select environmental ethical issues. Ethical extensionism is an approach to environmental and animal ethics in which the scope of ethical theories is extended to cover beings traditionally thought to. Environmental ethics starts with human concerns for a quality. Sep 27, 2016 moral extensionism is an argument in environmental ethics that moral standing ought to be extended to things animals, plants, species, the earth that traditionally are not thought of as having moral standing. Because utilitarians recognize only the intrinsic value of pleasure or desire satisfaction, the commitment to intrinsic value in environmental ethics has also driven a rather deep wedge between environmental ethics. An overview katie mcshane colarado state university abstract this essay provides an overview of the field of environmental ethics. Ecotage, ecodefense, and deep ecology, the trumpeter 27, no.
Edited by andrew fiala, this book includes essays written by important scholars in the field of peace studies, pacifism, and nonviolence, including michael allen fox, andrew fitzgibbon, bill gay, and. It poses a challenge to anthropocentrism, an outlook that assumes moral superiority of humans over other species, and thus is related to animal rights. From the moment it was born, environmental ethics has been an area in which different ideas and perspectives compete with each other. Apr 30, 2020 robert elliot discussed humancentred, nonhumancentred and consequentialist environmental ethics before this section and virtuebased environmental ethics afterwards. Ethical extensionism under uncertainty of sentience. Because utilitarians recognize only the intrinsic value of pleasure or desire satisfaction, the commitment to intrinsic value in environmental ethics has also driven a rather deep wedge between environmental ethics and the ethics of utilitarianism. Article 31, luxembourg, 2012 deborah oughton see debates in holmesrolsten iii, environmental ethics, 1988. While a persons moral code is usually unchanging, the ethics she practices can be otherdependent.
Ethical extensionism generally involves drawing one or more lines of moral standing. Ethical extensionism is an argument in environmental ethics that moral standing ought to be extended to things animals, plants, species, the earth that traditionally are not thought of as having moral standing. Ethical extensionism is an argument in environmental ethics that moral standing ought to be extended to things animals, plants, species, the earth that traditionally are not thought of as having moral standing for example, while many cultures differ as to what, exactly, is murder, all cultures take it as wrong to commit murder. Some topics concerning ethics and the environment we may consider include. The field of environmental ethics concerns human beings ethical relationship with the natural environment. Deontological ethical theories tend to focus on doing whats right and on moral duties, principles, rules and rights, largely independent of consequences. This is based on the idea that ethical systems vary to just in their precepts or rules do not. Ethical extensionism is an argument in environmental ethics that moral standing ought to be extended to things animals, plants, species, the earth that. Environmental ethics has become an established subject of philosophy in recent decades in response to the contemporary environmental crisis. Moral extensionism extends rights and moral standing to animals and other parts of the natural environment. Hinman this philosophy selector, a free online personality quiz, is a creation of exodus101 and for amusement purposes only. Some topics concerning ethics and the environment we. Environmental philosophers have tried to reason their way towards such moral accord by devising arguments for environmental ethics. When enquiry is directed towards the principles of moral judgement or the criteria for the ethical analysis of morality, then we talk about fundamental ethics.
Moral extensionism extends rights and moral standing to. Relations with nonhuman beings mouchang yu, yi lei encyclopedia of life support systems eolss norton b. It implies respect for fellow members and also respect for the community as such j. Environmental ethics consists of a set of competing theories about whether human actions and attitudes to nature are morally right or wrong. In short, it is argued that ethical extensionism remains too humancentered, because it takes human beings as the paradigm examples of entities with moral. It remains one of the most widely read and influential statements of environmental ethics ever written. Singer states that if a nonhuman animal would be able to follow his framework of utilitarianism then it should lead to moral extensionism.
For more information on environmental ethics, read this helpsavenature article. Australian ecoactivist john seed famously insists that in acting to save the rainforest i. The ecological roots of ethics and religion freya mathews abstract in the face of environmental crisis we urgently need agreement, across cultures and nations, on the moral significance of the biosphere. Environmental ethics internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Includes an extended introduction that provides an historical and thematic introduction to the field of environmental ethics features a selection of brief original. Moral extensionism argues for the expansion of that consideration to members of nonhuman animal and plant species or to ecosystems as a whole. Feb 20, 2014 utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental ethics discuss environmental ethics surrounds the ethical relationship between people and the world we live in. What are environmental ethics and whats your role in.
Ethics, on the other hand, involves the study of those standards and judgments which people create. Environmental ethics is a branch of environmental philosophy that studies the ethical relationship between human beings and the environment. Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental ethics discussenvironmental ethics surrounds the ethical relationship between people and the world we live in. A pluralistic approach to moral theory by lawrence m.
Baird callicott, the search for an environmental ethics in william shaw, social and professional ethics, 2nd ed. Ecocentrists are holists whose theory locates the primary site of value in biological communities or ecosystems and who tend to regard actions interfering with the progress of an ecosystem toward its mature equilibrium state as prima facie wrong. Environmentalism, also called environmental ethics, is an applied and theoretical philosophy about how humans should interact with nature. I sketch the major debates in the field from its inception in the 1970s to today, explaining both the central tenets of the schools of thought within the field and the arguments. Presentday environmental ethics advocates for moral extensionism, speaks of biospheric egalitarianism at.
Through a series of multidisciplinary readings, environmental ethics. Finally in the realm of normative ethics, there is applied ethics. The first part of this study is devoted to analysing the prevailing western ethical systems and to a comparison of them with a conception of a new environmental ethics. The big questions contextualizes environmental ethics within the history of western intellectual tradition and traces the development of theory since the 1970s. As environmental ethics continued to grow in the twenty. Environmental ethics is a branch of philosophy that considers the moral relations between human beings and their natural environment. Pdf introduction to environmental science ppt free. Each one of these approaches deals differently with both the criteria for deciding who or what has moral standing, and the adjudication amongst those with moral standing. Much environmental ethics might be l cast in terms of rights. In this respect, most environmental ethics is antiextensionist, by. For example, while many cultures differ as to what, exactly, is murder, all cultures take it as wrong to commit murder.
There are ethical dilemmas we realise, such as a conflict between. The three main approaches in environmental ethics are. Tom regan, the case for animal rights berkeley, university of california. People need some sort of a moral guide through life. People use moral reasoning to make moral judgments or to discover right actions. Environmental ethics deals with the moral relationships between humans and the. Environment and society chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 flashcards. Val plumwoods critique of moral extensionism, environmental ethics 32, no. Moral extensionism is an argument in environmental ethics that moral standing ought to be extended to things animals, plants, species, the earth that traditionally are not thought of as having moral standing.
Feb 24, 2017 environmental ethics is a branch of environmental philosophy that studies the ethical relationship between human beings and the environment. Mccloskey, john passmore, moral extensionism, moral. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with morals. Some are tempted to say that the problem just sketched is the general one that affects ethical extensionism as the method for generating an environmental ethic, namely that things go awry when we focus on individual entities at too finegrained a level.
Ultimate worth of actions or things what is the good of life. Whereas tom regan bases is beliefs on kantian structures. Environmental ethics is defined as the moral relationship between humans and the natural. Anthropocentric, extensionist, and holistic nonextensionist.
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