Environmental Ethics

Environmental ethics is defined as the moral relationship between humans and the natural environment(Buzzle 2011). It is an area of environmental philosophy that faces a lot of conflict due to the varioussubdivisions in terms of ethical perceptions. For traditional and religious views, some people believe thatthey were given dominionover nature's plants and animals to serve their needs. The idea of a human-centered nature, or anthropocentrism, explicitly states that humans are the sole bearers of intrinsic valueand all other living things are there to sustainhumanity's existence(MacKinnon 2007, p. 331). The'ecological footprint'(Gaston 2005, p.

Environment ethics is a critical study of the normative issues and principles relevant to the relationship between human and natural world. In this article I tried to find that on what ethical basis should we decide how to deal with nature . The main concern is that to which inherent value can be ascribed to things that are not human, including animals, vegetation, and even land .The integrated efforts are to be put so as to examine the interrelated components of environment system . Environmental ethics has much to contribute to the solution of global environmental problems and raise awareness about environmental problems . Human have a duty to act as benign stewards of the earth.

The article analyzes the features, values, the need for environmental ethics and the moral content of natural rights in the global environment of the modern era. Environmental ethics reflects the essence and concepts of environmental and moral perception, describes the features of the era of environmental ethics and globalization. The norms and practical significance of the main criteria of environmental ethics are widely covered. The emphasis is on the theoretical and practical aspects of biodiversity and seeks to combine these aspects with concepts of responsibility. Today it is important to pay attention to ethical issues in solving environmental problems. It is important to explain the common interests and requirements of social responsibility as an object of study of environmental ethics.

Man is a moral being. Non-humans are devoid of moral sense because they cannot distinguish between 'is and ought', 'right and wrong'. On account of moral awareness human actions can be judged as desirable and undesirable. It is a fact that moral concepts and moral valuations are meaningful only in human domain. There can be no disagreement about the fact that human-beings have their moral obligations for their fellow-beings. But the central question in environmental ethics is; whether human-beings have any obligation for the non-human species and towards nature. In the broad sense of the term, nature consists of flora, fauna and different other elements in nature such as the mountains, rivers, forests, earth and atmosphere. Though non-humans do not have moral sense the real issue is whether and to what extent human-beings have any moral duty, moral obligations for the non-humans over and above their duty towards their fellow human-beings.

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 2005

kathie jenni WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: AN OVERVIEW Although Western philosophers have considered humans' relationship to nature since ancient times, environmental ethics as a systematic discipline has emerged only in recent decades. In the early stages of the environmental movement, problems such as pollution, species extinctions, and the destruction of wilderness arose as concerns for anthropocentric, or human-centered, ethics. Philosophical discussions applied traditional ethical principles and theories to these problems, and "applied ethics" expanded to include those analyses. At the same time, some thinkers extended anthropocentric ethics by addressing our potential obligations to future generations of human beingshumans who do not yet exist. Problems such as resource conservation and toxic waste disposal were examined in light of responsibilities to future humans. Environmental ethics took a new turn when philosophers began to argue for nonanthropocentric ethics, which grants direct moral importance to natural objects besides humans. Animal rights philosophers took the lead in arguing for the moral standing of nonhuman animals, but they were soon followed by others who argued that we should extend moral standing to all living things, or even to all natural objects. These philosophers proposed extensions in the scope of application of Western moral principles and concepts. A more radical development came when the moral focus on individuals was challenged by thinkers who argued for holistic ethics: the expansion of moral responsibilities to collections, communities, or wholes. In these theories, entities such as species and ecosystems were accorded moral standing in place of, or in addition to, the individuals that constituted those wholes. Holistic theories challenged not only traditional conceptions of ethics, but also assumptions in metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy. Recently, environmental ethics has taken other new forms, from ecofeminism and the study of environmental racism, which connect KATHIE JENNI, professor, Department of Philosophy,

During the last two centuries, occidenta1 philosophical meditation has triumphantly adνanced through preνiously poorly charted fields. Science has real10cated the methods as wel1 as the goals of philosophy, forcing scholars to adνance a little further, embrace new cognitiνe chal1enges and οοττοεροαο to new social needs. As a result, our eνeryday life has become easier and ουι world is a better place to liνe ία. But still, an optimum situation is not achieνed. As a matter of fact, there are more things at stake ίη our era than there were in preνious ones. Even basic prerequisites for a prosperous life are not fully met. For the first time in the history of mankind, we can not eνen be sure about the surνiνal of ουι planet, not to mention well being οί it's liνing entities -man included. So far, where ίε the improνement? .Ουτ ancestors may not haνe had the luxury of fast transportation, immediate information οι adequate medical treatment, still they could take some things for granted: they positively knew that they and their successors would be giνen the minimum of chances: they, at least, would haνe a place to liνe.

Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 2018

This article substantiates the essence of ecological ethics in the context of modern scientific research. The emphasis lies on the need to develop a strategy and approach of human behavior amid the natural environment, rational nature management, protection and restoration of the surrounding world. The new methodological thinking is characterized by philosophical foundation of ecological ethics (ecological consciousness, ecological thinking, ecological values, ecological activity, etc.). The idea of development of environmental ethics based on principles of Christian and Philosophic noology is introduced. The world outlook is changing rapidly with its positive and negative aspects. It requires humanization of natural environment as well as a human being by forming ecological consciousness. There is a necessity of humanization of technosphere and abandoning technocratic thinking, which is anti-culture itself and, at times, it endangers human race on the Earth.

ABSTRACT Environmentalism, a secular movement which started in its primordial forms with the Buddhist monks of the 4th Century BC and the Christian monks of the 3rd century AD, has in our time, undergone tremendous changes. Today, as we remain concerned and strive to maintain the beauty of the natural environment as a morally worthy act, it is important also to properly watch our steps so that the human person is not harmed in the process. In order words, while we commend the efforts of our present day environmentalists in protecting the natural environment, we need to put them in a balancing scale along with the need to protect the dignity and interests of the human person. In this paper, this balancing is made in close consideration of three theoretical categorizations given to man’s relation to his environment namely, Ecocentricism, Animal liberation and Ecofeminism. Key words: Environmentalism, Ethics, Ecocentricism, Ecofeminism, animal liberation

In Search of Moral Equilibrium and Wisdom, 2021

Sustainable practices such as conservation, protected species, renewable energies, green technologies, reforestation, eco-friendly, and fair treatments of non-human species, among others, have dominated research and debates in environmental ethics. The preceding approaches seek to address various environmental concerns that range from deforestation, climate change, global warming, drought, mining, famine, overpopulation, over-fishing, oil drilling, pollution, ozone depletion, green gases, carbon emission, and nuclear waste. In addition to discussing those concerns, this chapter will highlight various perspectives on environmental ethics, which feature biocentrism, utilitarianism, interdependence between humans and nature, and shared substance with nature. Overall, as the title suggests, the tensions in discourses on environmental ethics tend to, more often than not, revolve around human needs and the care of nature and other living organisms. Notably, answers to questions about human responsibilities and obligation toward non-human species and the environment have been as contested as they are divergent.

Market capitalism has increased wealth beyond the imagination of previous generations, but cannot, in and of itself, distribute it equally or even equitably. These are problems that cannot be solved within the terms set by modernity, for the simple reason that they are not procedural, but rather valuational or, to use the simple word, moral. There is no way of bypassing difficult moral choices by way of a scientific decision-procedure that states "Maximize X". We first have to decide which X we wish to maximize, and how to weigh X against Y when the pursuit of one damages the fulfilment of the other. The human project is inescapably a moral project." Jonathan Sacks (in Dunning, 2003)