GEOG 410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, Environmental Ethics

• School: UBC
• Department: Geography
• Course: GEOG 410
• Professor: K A R E N A B K K E R

Document Summary

Chapter 5 discusses the various viewpoints in environmental ethics and the bases for disagreements between them on how humans should or should not interact with the environment. Major questions that are addressed include the question of whether nature has intrinsic value separate from human use, whether non-hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) e(cid:374)tities ha(cid:448)e (cid:862)(cid:396)ights,(cid:863) a(cid:374)d to (cid:449)hat deg(cid:396)ee hu(cid:373)a(cid:374)s should i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:448)e(cid:374)e i(cid:374) (cid:374)atu(cid:396)al systems. Even environmental justice is at its base human-centered: environmental ethics is relatively new in western philosophy, and the discussion has turned toward how people should treat non-human entities. Improving nature: from biblical tradition to john locke. Aldo leopold a(cid:374)d (cid:862)the la(cid:374)d ethi(cid:272)(cid:863: ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment, aldo leopold was among the first ecologists. Liberation for animals: leopold intended to extend ethical consideration to plant and animal species in order to preserve healthy ecosystem functioning.