ENVR 203 Lecture Notes - Anthropocentrism
17 Sep 2013
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Document Summary
Living things are affected by humans actions and have moral standing. May confer rights, moral or legal, on anything living. Albert schweitzer believed that reverence for life was the fundamental principle for morality. The belief that divine right is conferred on humans. Everything else is for the usage of humans. Philosophical rationalism values the logical rational mind above the physical. The world doesn"t matter as anything more than an intelligible reality for the mind. Conferring rights on new entities is often met with resistance. Believes rights should be given to natural objects- forests, oceans, rivers etc. Natural objects currently only have standing in reference to human usage. Precedents include corporations, states, estates, infants, incompetents universities etc. Requires acquiring a new viewpoint of our role in the universe. Does not require considering all other life equal to human life. Believes that humans have no more intrinsic value or inherent worth than other beings.
