Environmental Ethics

Deep Ecology - Aldo Leopold - not right to see the natural world simply in terms of economic worth. We need to develop an ethics to deal with man's relationship to the land, animals and plants and revert our priorities from people to land. Aarne Naess - every being has an equal right to live and blossom, which he defined as ecosphy - a philosophy of ecological harmony and equilibrium. Nature does not exist to serve humans; nature has intrinsic value.
1. All life has value in itself, independently of its usefulness to humans ü Richness and diversity contribute to life’s well-being and have value in themselves ü Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs in a responsible way. ü The impact of humans in the world is excessive and rapidly getting worse. ü Human lifestyles and population are key elements of this impact. ü The diversity of life, including cultures, can flourish only with reduced human impact. ü Basic ideological, political, economic and technological structures must therefore change. ü Those who accept the foregoing points have an obligation to participate in implementing the necessary changed and to do so peacefully and democratically.
2. Human's should reduce earths population, abandon goals of economic growth, conserve species diveristy, live in small self reliant communities and 'touch the earth lightly'
Eco-holism - James Lovelock - Gaia hypothesis - earth is a self regulating living system - maintains suitable conditions for its own growth and development - if we abuse Gaia then we risk our own survival. The earth is a unfiied, holistic living entity with ethical worth in which all organisms on earth are interdependent.
Shallow ecology - Michael La Bossiere - some species should be allowed to die ut as it is part of a natural selection of evolution, they should not be protected by humans. Conservation ethics - means to an end and is purely concerned with humanity - a person chooses to avoid pollution or reycle because the effects are beneficial to humans.
Humanist theories - Peter Singer - believed strongly in sentience - the ability to feel pleasure and pain which means moral worth includes animals and if not we are guilty of speciesism. Singer is pref. Utilitarianist so animals should receive equal preferences as humans. Plants are not sentient and are therefore not convinced by arguments of preserving environment for its intrinsic value. However did say preservation of heritage sights is acceptable as they can be enjoyed by future generations and so have instrumental value.
Christian approach - Dominion - Christians take an anthropocentric approach which values human interests over any other species 'Let them have dominion over all the wild animals of the earth' Gen 1 - Value of creation - 'God called the dry ground 'land' and the gathered waters he called 'seas' and God saw that it was good' Gen 1 - Stewardship - 'The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it' Gen 2 - Man's Sin - The Fall can sometimes be seen as reason for world's environmental issues. Care for the environment will repair man's broken relationship with God and bring about peace, harmony and justice. Rapture - 'End of time' second coming of Christ - uniting Christians 'all over the earth, graves will explode as the ocupants into the Heavens' Fund. Christians believe looking after environment won't help you get to heaven, only if you truly believe and worship.

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Environmental Ethics

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