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Philosophy & Environmental
Ethics
• What are morals and values?
– morals - right vs wrong
– values - ultimate worth of actions or things
Ethical status
• moral agents
– can act morally and
immorally
– responsible for actions
• moral subjects
– have moral interests - can
be treated rightly or
wrongly
– not responsible for actions
• Which is nature?
–
–
–
–
agent
subject
resilient background
delicate system
Value
• intrinsic/inherent - because it exists
• instrumental - because it has a use
• humans vs living things vs physical things
Ethical viewpoints
• Universalist
–
–
–
–
–
fundamental principles
unchanging
eternal
universal
modernists: develop universal
laws through science
• Relativist
– vary by person, society,
situation
– right and wrong must have a
context
– postmodernist: all viewpoints
are equal
• Utilitarian
– action is right that produces
• the greatest good
• for the greatest number of people
• for the longest time (added by early
environmentalists)
– can justify terrible actions
– difficult to weigh options
• Nihilist
–
–
–
–
everything is arbitrary
no right or wrong
power, strength, survival
uncertainty, pain, despair
Environmental worldviews
• domination
– humans may do as they want
– anthropocentric
• stewardship
– responsible caretakers
– somewhat anthropocentric
• ecocentric
– ecological processes are the most
important
• animal rights
– each individual has inherent
value
• biocentric
– biodiversity has the highest
values
– species and populations have
inherent value
• ecofeminism
– everything is interconnected
– nothing occupies the high ground
– focus on relationship, kinship,
and reciprocity
– for the good of all
– relativistic awareness