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human orgins and environmental ethics
humanity’s relationship to the environment
human orgins and environmental ethics
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Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong in human conduct. Environmental ethics studies the effects of human’s moral relationships on the environment and everything within it (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). The ethical principles that govern those relations determine human duties, obligations, and responsibilities with regard to the Earth’s natural environment and all of the animals and plants that inhabit it (Taylor, 1989). The purpose of this paper is to reveal environmental issues that are threatening the existence of life on Earth, and discus our social obligations to refrain from further damaging our environment, health and life for future generations. I will discus the need for appropriate actions and the ethical application in the decision making process on solving environmental concerns.
Environmental Concerns
The environment has been under attack since the dawn of man. Without the environment, man could not exist. Herein lies the dilemma, man takes from the earth what he needs to survive, food, water, shelter, and the very air he breathes. However, the ever-rising population of man demands more of these essentials at a rapid rate, therefore, more is being taken than the earth can replenish. The human populous and concentrations of pesticides in food crops, started to be seen as an environmental crisis in the 1960’s, which acted as the stepping-stone for environmental awareness. In 1967, historian Lynn White published an essay on the historical roots of the environmental crisis. Whites essay created many academic debates over the Judeo-Christian mode of thinking, which encouraged the exploitation of nature for human consumption. The ethical dilemma arises from the concern of whether or not it was mor...
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...man sources of greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise due to the growing populous, this growth may be reduced by Bush’s plans to increase efforts to use newer, cleaner technologies and measures. These plans will only be effective if everyone, not just in the United States, but the entire world, participates and becomes aware of the ethical dilemmas challenging our very existence.
The environment is a part of us and we of it. We cannot survive without each other. Since the dawn of time, it has nurtured and provided for us. Now it is our turn to nurture and preserve the environment. The future in uncertain, but if the entire human species can adapt a more reasonable lifestyle, there is hope for the environment and every living thing in it. Time is of the essence, therefore, immediate actions and ethical decisions are necessary for survival of the planet.
Cases have been widely used in medical ethics and law. In both fields, numerous books and articles about cases have appeared, including book-length catalogs of cases. I argue that pluralistic casuistry provides an adequate approach to environmental ethics. It retains the strengths while avoiding the weaknesses of the other approaches. Importantly, it resolves some broader theoretical issues and provides a clear, explicit methodology for education and praxis.
It is difficult for humans to live in harmony with nature because humans’ selfishness always places profits before our earth’s needs. We live in a consumer society, which we purchase interesting products and dispose of them carelessly. Those products with non-decomposable materials, which make our life easier and more comfortable, result a massive damage to our environment. In the articles, “A Fable for Tomorrow” by Rachel Carson and “Our Animals Rite” by Anna Quindlen, both authors suggest destruction in nature world due to human’s activities. As environment issues presented by scientists, governments around the world start to give highly attention on the environmental protection, but there are many challenges in implementing environmental protection policies. Some of the top environmental concerns are air pollution, climate changing and trash waste. Although people started to aware the horrible consequences due to polluted environment, an efficient life, people apathy toward ecosystem and human's unlimited desires for a confortable life have created obstacles for the world to protect the environment.
Upon weighing both sides of the issue, and considering the severity of ethical implications we can easily see that environment is a priceless asset to our future generations and us. Natural systems possess a value in them that makes them worth preserving, even at the cost of our needs.
Analyzing human obligation pertaining to all that is not man made, apart from humans, we discover an assortment of concerns, some of which have been voiced by philosophers such as Tom Regan, Peter Singer and Aldo Leopold. Environmentally ethical ideals hold a broad spectrum of perspectives that, not only attempt to identify a problem, but also focus on how that problem is addressed through determining what is right and wrong.
Environmental ethics presents us with a plurality of different theoretical positions, from sophisticated forms of anthropocentrism to competing views of ecofeminism and social ecology to various versions of biocentrism. The ethical discussions these positions have prompted reveal how difficult it is to extend or revise existing moral traditions in a manner that appears both plausible and socially legitimate to mainstream audiences. Traditional human-centered world views have a strong hold o...
It has been suggested that Japan may not be effective in negotiating with the international community. I am here to put that assertion to rest. Japan, facing increasing incidences of daily maximum temperatures greater than 35C and a decrease in extremely low temperatures, recognizes that climate change affects all nations of the world, and that everyone has the duty to decrease the rate of climate change, if not counteract the effects altogether.
Environmental Ethics N. Scott Momaday, "Native American Attitudes toward the Environment" 1.) Using the XML file format. How does Mr. Momaday use stories to develop his ideas? Would you draw the same conclusions from his stories that Mr. Momaday does? Mr. Momaday uses stories to develop his ideas by constantly using imagery and imagination.
In my ethical perspective, the world fails to appreciate its relationship with the environment. I find myself falling into this typical category by not seen our environment for its face value. Many have analyzed a relationship as a form of the following: care, support, connection, and well-being between a person or thing. This view of a relationship does not exist when it comes to our environment. We drain it of its natural resources for personal gain and look pass the damage we cause as a result of connectivity. We cut down trees to build new shopping malls. We inject chemicals into the soil to produce larger fruits and vegetables. There new car being built yearly causing heavy air pollution. These elements are destroying our environment and why many people suffer health problems. I will not be hypocritical by listing thing that I do not overlook and conform to in a
Other ethical questions such as “How should we- all living today evaluate the well-being of the future generations” (Brome). Scientific data shows that Global climate change will have some lasting effects on the planet, ecosystems and humans. There are many “risks associated with climate change such as the risk of pathogen, and disease” this will affect future generations, and animals this is why we should reduce our emissions of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere (Crank and Jacoby). “The consequences of heightening greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere appear after a time lag, often decades or more” (Somerville). Even though the current generations are “benefiting from cheap use of burning fossil fuels, and using the atmosphere as a free dump for our waste products” all humans are obligated to find a cleaner way to live so we don’t set future humans up for failure (Somerville). Somerville also explains that within us burning these fossil fuels, and ignoring the consequences “we sentence our children and grandchildren to cope with the resulting climate change” (Somerville). Also we need to take action to prevent further damage of Earth’s climate not only for the future children of the world but other species that we share the planet with. In the article “The Ethics of Climate Change” by John Broome he states that the answer to this ethical question can be easy one without the need of a sophisticated philosopher (Broome). He say that the answer to ethical climate change questions can be answered by simple common sense thinking (Broome). “You should not do something for your own benefit that will harm another’s” (Broome). He asks the question which is worse the death of a child in 2108 or the death of a child currently living?” (Broome). John Broome argues that we have a responsibility to
Ecologists formulate their scientific theories influenced by ethical values, and in turn, environmental ethicists value nature based on scientific theories. Darwinian evolutionary theory provides clear examples of these complex links, illustrating how these reciprocal relationships do not constitute a closed system, but are undetermined and open to the influences of two broader worlds: the sociocultural and the natural environment. On the one hand, the Darwinian conception of a common evolutionary origin and ecological connectedness has promoted a respect for all forms of life. On the other hand, the metaphors of struggle for existence and natural selection appear as problematic because they foist onto nature the Hobbesian model of a liberal state, a Malthusian model of the economy, and the productive practice of artificial selection, all of which reaffirm modern individualism and the profit motive that are at the roots of our current environmental crisis. These metaphors were included in the original definitions of ecology and environmental ethics by Haeckel and Leopold respectively, and are still pervasive among both ecologists and ethicists. To suppose that these Darwinian notions, derived from a modern-liberal worldview, are a fact of nature constitutes a misleading interpretation. Such supposition represents a serious impediment to our aim of transforming our relationship with the natural world in order to overcome the environmental crisis. To achieve a radical transformation in environmental ethics, we need a new vision of nature.
A human induced global ecological crisis is occurring, threatening the stability of this earth and its inhabitants. The best path to address environmental issues both effectively and morally is a dilemma that raises concerns over which political values are needed to stop the deterioration of the natural environment. Climate change; depletion of resources; overpopulation; rising sea levels; pollution; extinction of species is just to mention a few of the damages that are occurring. The variety of environmental issues and who and how they affect people and other species is varied, however the nature of environmental issues has the potential to cause great devastation. The ecological crisis we face has been caused through anthropocentric behavior that is advantageous to humans, but whether or not anthropocentric attitudes can solve environmental issues effectively is up for debate. Ecologism in theory claims that in order for the ecological crisis to be dealt with absolutely, value and equality has to be placed in the natural world as well as for humans. This is contrasting to many of the dominant principles people in the contemporary world hold, which are more suited to the standards of environmentalism and less radical approaches to conserving the earth. I will argue in this essay that whilst ecologism could most effectively tackle environmental problems, the moral code of ecologism has practical and ethical defects that threaten the values and progress of anthropocentricism and liberal democracy.
“Unless humanity is suicidal, it should want to preserve, at the minimum, the natural life-support systems and processes required to sustain its own existence” (Daily p.365). I agree with scientist Gretchen Daily that drastic action is needed now to prevent environmental disaster. Immediate action and changes in attitude are not only necessary for survival but are also morally required. In this paper, I will approach the topic of environmental ethics from several related sides. I will discuss why the environment is a morally significant concern, how an environmental ethic can be developed, and what actions such an ethic would require to maintain and protect the environment.
Anthropocentrism is the school of thought that human beings are the single most significant entity in the universe. As a result, the philosophies of those with this belief reflect the prioritization of human objectives over the well-being of one’s environment. However, this is not to say that anthropocentric views neglect to recognize the importance of preserving the Earth. In fact, it is often in the best interests of humans to make concerted efforts towards sustaining the environment. Even from a purely anthropocentric point of view, there are three main reasons why mankind has a moral duty to protect the natural world.
The environment around us gives us the habitat to live, is a condition for our existence and development so that protecting environment which is one of today’s most serious issues means protecting our lives. But almost every day we hear a new problem badly affecting the environment. The list of the new difficulties seems to be endless. We are all aware of these concerns and can admit that we caused them. Now, environmental protection is not the work of a single individual as it is the responsibility of the whole community, of every single person exists on this planet. The measures range from each citizen to the government.
Environmental philosophy tries to make sense of the unexamined values, assumptions and ideologies behind humanities treatment of the environment and, in doing so, aims at helping to elicit an effective human response to related issues (Curry, 2011). Environmental philosophy, has gone beyond being merely an academic pursuit, now requiring the world’s population take moral responsibility for the damages caused by their industrial advances on natural systems.