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Description
Mind Map by Carys Wilkinson, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Carys Wilkinson
about 8 years ago
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Utilitarianism and Environmental Ethics
- The destruction of the environment can bring long term
harm to all species.
- A utilitarian argument will balance that harm against any short
term gain found in exploiting or using nature and its resources.
- A utilitarian argument will balance that harm against any short
term gain found in exploiting or using nature and its resources.
- Bentham
- A quantitative utilitarian
- Would weigh up the amount of pleasure and pain
humans from present and future generation
would gain
- Would weigh up the amount of pleasure and pain
humans from present and future generation
would gain
- Pleasure was to be preferred to
pain because that is how it is in
nature.
- Believed in the important of sentient animals
beings considered wen discussing
environmental issues.
- 'the question is not, Can they reason? nor,
Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?'
- 'the question is not, Can they reason? nor,
Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?'
- A quantitative utilitarian
- Mill
- A qualitative utilitarian
- Would see the enjoyment of nature and a higher
pleasure and so may want to preserve the
environment.
- Would see the enjoyment of nature and a higher
pleasure and so may want to preserve the
environment.
- Believed animals should be treated with
dignity but this is because a denial of this
would produce harmful effects on humans.
- E.g. dog fighting is morally wrong since by causing
unnecessary suffering to animals those involved
degrade themselves
- E.g. dog fighting is morally wrong since by causing
unnecessary suffering to animals those involved
degrade themselves
- A qualitative utilitarian
- Singer
- A preference utilitarian
- Aims to maximise the pleasure of
all sentient beings.
- Animals are capable of experiencing pain and
pleasure and their desire should be
considered. Speciesism is as wrong as racism
or sexism.
- Singer however disregards the preferences of future
generations, his focus is on maximising preference
satisfaction for the current population.
- Animals are capable of experiencing pain and
pleasure and their desire should be
considered. Speciesism is as wrong as racism
or sexism.
- Aims to maximise the pleasure of
all sentient beings.
- Believed Christianity was bad for ecology
because of the belief that humans are more
important than animals.
- A preference utilitarian
- Criticisms
- Allows for people to exploit nature for
short-term human benefit.
- Difficult to make a utilitarian calculation of
the consequences as we cannot know with
certainty what long term effects or
consequences of an action will be.
- What may seem advantageous for the
environment may in the longer term
prove harmful.
- What may seem advantageous for the
environment may in the longer term
prove harmful.
- Should future generations be included in the
consideration?
- Case study
- Bakun hydroelectric dam in Sarawak.
- Destoryed rainforests, farmland and displaced indigenous people.
On the upside it is estimated that the dam could supply 20 million
homes with electricity.
- Bakun hydroelectric dam in Sarawak.
- Allows for people to exploit nature for
short-term human benefit.
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