The Human Person in the
Environment
Approaches to Environmental Ethics
• Inherent Value
Something is claimed to have intrinsic value if it has inherent
worth in itself. It is worth pursuing as end in itself because it is
valuable or good for its own sake.
• Instrumental Value
Something is claimed to have instrumental value if it is
considered as a means towards achieving a certain end. Its worth
depends on whether it was successful in bringing about the particular
purpose or end that is supposed to serve.
Attribution of Moral Consideration
Which of the living beings
inhabiting the earth has to
be given moral worth or
priority?
ANIMATE+
ALL LIVING THINGS INANIMATE+
SUPRAORGANISMIC
HIGHER ANIMALS WHOLE
HUMAN BEINGS
ANTHROPOCENTRISM PANTHOCENTRISM BIOCENTRISM HOLISM
STATE OF BEING
HUMAN
ABILITY TO SUFFER
EXISTENCE
STATE OF BEING ALIVE
ANTHROPOCENTRISM
• Anthropocentrism in Judeo-Christian Tradition
The earth and its natural resources were looked at as an instrument
for man to explore and conquer.
• Enlightened/Prudential Anthropocentrism
Duties towards the environment are taken from our duties to its
human inhabitants.
Instead of dominion over nature, humans are stewards of nature.
The root causes of environmental crises stem from man’s
ignorance, shortsightedness, and greed.
PANTHOCENTRISM
• Moral consideration is extended to higher
forms of animals.
Arguments:
• Animals are sentient beings.
• Animals possess inherent or intrinsic
value.
BIOCENTRISM
• Moral consideration is extended to plants.
• Due consideration is given to the preservation of biodiversity with its
plants and animals.
• Proponents advocate environmental protection for all living
organisms including animal rights.
• Paul Taylor believes that all living things should be considered as
teleological centers of life.
• Every living organism has its own telos to fulfill in this world.
ECOCENTRISM
• Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic reduces all living beings into mere members
of the ecosystem.
• It regards the ecosystem as holistic entities that should be given moral
consideration.
• Leopold claims that “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the
integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.”
• J. Baird Callicot “A species is what it is because it has adapted to a niche
in the ecosystem.”
• Callicot envisions that we may reach a point where human beings
would be enlightened towards one global community.
Theories in Radical Ecological Philosophy
•Deep Ecology
•Social Ecology
•Ecofeminsm
DEEP ECOLOGY
• It presupposes biospheric egalitarianism.
• All living things possess equal value and intrinsic
worth regardless of their usefulness or utility to
other beings.
• Arne Naess believes human beings should look at
the self as an extension of nature. Respect to the
self is tantamount to respect and care for nature.
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
• Murray Bookchin claims that “The very notion
of the domination of nature by man stems from
the very real domination of human by human.
• The root cause of environmental problems is
political or has something to do with power
relations in society brought about by capitalism.
ECOFEMINISM
• This is a reaction against male domination and
the corresponding oppression of women.
• The problem in our relationship with the
environment is rooted on a male-centered view
of nature.
• Against patriarchal relations and capitalist
system.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
•Preservation of Endangered
Species
•Water Scarcity
•Climate Change
Preservation of Endangered Species
• Endangered species are species at risk of becoming extinct.
• Causes
• Hunting
• Habitat destruction
• Pollution
• Species competition
• Solutions
• Protect other living things
• Protect food supply chains
• Preservation and conservation of the environment
Water Scarcity
•Rising global population and economic
growth triggered the growing demand
for potable water.
•Flood and drought are the one of the
problems the world is facing today.
CLIMATE CHANGE
• Melting polar icecaps, drastic rainfalls and thunderstorms,
sea-level rise, and the increase of Earth’s temperature.
• Implications:
• World’s food production is at risk
• Declining water supplies
• People in the coastal areas are the first ones being
affected
• Spreading of infectious diseases
• Forces people to migrate to other areas
What We Ought to Do?
• Human Obligations to the Ecosystem
“we have a prima facie obligation to protect such ecosystems irrespective of all
possible advantage to human beings.” Peter Wenz
• Positive Duty = prima facie duty to protect the environment from any
and every threat
= a duty to bring aid.
• Negative Duty=prima facie duty not to harm the environment
What We Ought to Do?
• Recognizing Responsibility to the Environment
• Joining awareness-raising campaigns in promoting
prudence and responsibility
• Promotion of environmental advocacy program
• Promotion of environmental best practices
• Sharing success stories on environmental preservation
• Behavioral change must happen both from within and
outside the household.
(individual, community, company and government)
Global Initiatives
Environmental Protocols
• Kyoto Protocol = UN member nations agreement to reduce their carbon
dioxide emission
• Montreal Protocol = is a result of the agreement in the Vienna Convention of
the protection of the ozone layer, aimed to reduce ozone
depletion by phasing out products that contain substances
responsible for such.
• Basel Convention= is a treaty ratified by 180 member states and the European
Union aimed at controlling ‘transboundary movements of
hazardous wastes and their disposal.
Its goal is to protect developing countries to become
dumping sites of toxic wastes of developed countries.
