34-227 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Environmental Ethics, Ethics, Ecosystem
12 Oct 2018
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34-227
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
According to Keller (2010), environmental ethics is concerned with the following central
questions:
1) What are human beings?
2) What is nature?
3) How are human beings related to nature?
4) How should human beings be related to nature? Should we be exploiting the
environment for our needs? Should we be eating meat?
Who is more important; us or nature?
Anthropocentrism: only human beings have ‘intrinsic value’ and everything else
(animals, plants, abiota) has only ‘instrumental value’ for us.
Intrinsic value: x has value for its own sake as an end in itself
Instrumental value: x has value only as a means to an end
The implication of this view is that it is morally acceptable for humans to exploit nature
as we see fit & that our only moral obligations are to each other & not the environment.
That it’s okay to kill animals for food and fur, or take oil from the earth for cars and
machines.
1) Shallow ecology – only take action on the environment for the sake of human beings
as our obligations only extend to them or to future generations (Bacon, Mill, Kant, etc.)
Focuses on future of humanity.
2) Deep ecology – calls into question the focus on human beings rather than nature as
a whole (holism vs. individualism) – EX: J. Baird Callicott. Focuses on future of the world,
not just humans. Abandons anthropocentricism
Various approaches to environmental ethics arose from the deep ecology movement:
1) Hierarchical biocentrism – Acknowledges that other organisms besides humans
have intrinsic value. This still sees humans at the highest level of the value.
2) Psychocentrism - Not only humans but other animals such as higher primates
have self-awareness of themselves persisting through time. EX: chimpanzees can
recognize themselves in a mirror.
3) Egalitarian biocentrism – extends value to any organism that has goals
(teleology) even if it lacks consciousness. EX: Paul Taylor
4) Ecocentrism – parts accompany with other deep ecological ethical theories by
focusing not on various kinds of individuals (humans, animals, plants) Rather the
focus is on ecosystems as wholes – that ecosystems as wholes have intrinsic
value. EX: Naess argues that ecosystems are wholes consisting of related
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individuals. So, environmental issues relate to ecosystems rather than to
individuals.
Why Study Environmental Ethics?
J. Baird Callicott (deep ecology) – Analytic philosophy is very technical whereas
environmental ethics asks grand and important questions about the relation between
humans and environments.
Holmes Ralston III (hierarchical biocentrism) – studying environmental ethics helps us to
figure out who we are as human beings and what is our role relative to the
environment. Also, the study of this subject is important since “the survival of life on Earth
depends on it.”
Victoria Davion (ecofeminist philosopher) - Provides insight into how a male-centered
society has exploited and mistreated women. Exploitation of women is tied with
exploitation of environment.
Peter Singer (utilitarian ethicist) - Argues that animals like humans have the ability to
suffer and so they are moral equals. “You should study environmental ethics for
guidance in everyday life, like eating ethically.”
Michael Zimmerman (leading integral ecologist) – Environmental ethics is part of the
resurgence of old-style philosophy of nature which examines the big questions
regarding nature and our relation to it. A key question is how human consciousness
interacts with and is formed by the environment.
Ian Smith (corporate and individual culpability in climate change) – how can we apply
Mill’s harm principle to environmental harms such as greenhouse gas emissions and
resultant climate change. That is, it is important to study environ-mental philosophy to
get clear on the harms that are done to others via humans exploiting the environment.
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