ETH-210 TECEP
Peter SInger
"All Animals are Equal" Normative ethics equal consideration speciesism (coined) sentience is necessary for equal consideration utilitarianism
Paul Taylor
"An Ethics of Respect For Nature" Individual nonhuman biological organisms are a value of their own. obligation to protect and promote the good of nonhuman living things for their sake (life centered theory). argument: biocentric ethics of respect for nature is made up of belief system, ultimate moral attitude, set of rules of duty and standard character. teleological center of life
Aaron Simmons
"Do Animals have interest in Continued Life" Future opportunities view instinctual to want to live Non humans due moral consideration The interest principle: those who have interests have rights Death can harm animals even if they don't experience suffering.
Ramachandra Guha
"Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation" Critique of deep ecology's emphasis on wilderness preservation: reducing human population, neglecting other issues, appropriation of eastern spiritual tradition, perception of itself as the leading edge of environmentalism. Militarism and overconsumption are root of environmental problems.
Chris Cuomo
"Ethics and the Ecofeminist Self" Animal rights theories developed by Peter Singer and Tom Regan are based on questionable philosophical assumptions. Ecofeminist theories are more accurate and useful than others. Shifts to looking at responsibility of corporations. Act politically. Moral responsibility.
Ernest Partridge
"Future Generations" We know a few things about the future generations First, do no harm Lockean Proviso Moral education is crucial anticipation and prevention are better than finding a cure. just forebearance doing well by doing good moral responsibility
Philip Cafaro
"Getting to Less" No avail thesis increased efficiency is not enough. we must reduce consumption. two routes: exalted view- happiness in mental realm. second route: pleasurable contentment as goal. less consumption needs to overtake more consumption as a more popular decision.
Donald Van De Veer
"Interspecific Justice" Supports two factor egalitarianism forms of interspecific justice: radical speciesism, extreme speciesism, two factor egalitarianism, species egalitarianism, interest sensitive speciesism.
Thomas White
"Is a Dolphin a Person?" believes dolphins are persons because they meed his criteria for personhood. definition of a person
Victoria Davion
"Itch Scratching and Patio Building" biocentric individualism- all life has intrinsic value Believes it is agains the average person's intuitions to not step on a bug. Argues agains Kawall's "virtuous observer" "How Feminist is Ecofeminism" truly feminist perspective embraces both feminine and masculine critically. 5 ecofeminist views important task is finding different ways of thinking that are not contaminated by the logic of domination.
Native American
"Knowing the land" is the basis for environmental respect and responsibility.
Aldo Leopold
"Land Ethic" Intrinsic Value lies within the whole love, respect, admiration, interconnectivity in the land. disconnect of where we get our food holism 3 enemies of morality: middle man, indifference, false faith in science/government.
Slizabeth Skakoon
"Nature and Human Identity" Plastic brains root of our environmental problem is that we are separated from nature and therefore think we are superior to it. cartesian subject: mind in a vat, unconnected to the world around him artifacts; nature as an artifact and able to use it however we want.
Kenneth Goodpaster
"On Being Morally Considerable" Being alive is the only criteria for being morally considerable Necessary and sufficient condition biocentric view
Elisa Aaltola
"Personhood and Animals" 3 approaches to personhood: perfectionist, humanistic, interactive animals are individuals ontologically, not morally cluster theory: personhood consists of plurality of specific capacities
Vandana Shiva
"Politics of Climate Change" Favors local trade/ agains WTO and world bank Paradigm shift, not fossil fuel shift extreme weather due to destabilizing GHG development must be defined autopoetically against carbon trading. "Food for Cars or People" Biofuel-monocultures and hurting biodiversity harming the poor biofuels are a greenhouse threat, cause water scarcity, threat to food security. need democratic decision making at the business level. Development and Maldevelopment
William Murdoch
"Population and Food: Critique of Lifeboat Ethics" Think Hardin's metaphors are misleading and other factors are needed to understand population and hunger problem. Hardin favors private ownership Two things asked of rich nations: increase nonmilitary foreign aid, and to give it in ways and to governments that will deliver it to the poorest people and improve access to national economic institutions.
Arne Naess
"Self Realization" ecosophy- chance in worldview ecophilosophy (broad) biocentric holism first distinction between shallow and deep ecologies.
Sarah Pohl
"Technology and Wilderness Experience" Practice responsible simplicity when in the wilderness Technology can skew unique characteristics of outdoor experience. Allowing room for wilderness in everyday lives Virtue ethics
Tom Regan
"The Case for Animal Rights" moral agents and moral patients subject of a life justice theory dismisses utilitarianism fundamental wrong is not suffering, it is the belief that we view animals as our resources.
Karren Warren
"The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism, Revisited" Important interconnections among domination of women and others. Important to understand these connections to find solutions. Feminist philosophy should include ecofeminist insights into those interconnections and should so should solutions to env. problems. oppressive conceptual framework logic of domination exploitation of nature/animals is justified by feminizing them. ecofeminist ethic.
Steve Vanderheiden
"Two shades of Green: Food and Environmental Sustainability" light green: human welfare dark green: save nature feeding people is a distribution problem, not availability.
Murray Bookchin
"What is Social Ecology" Connection between domination of nature and social hierarchies In a society with social hierarchies, we are inclined to accept certain forms of domination, including that of nature. first nature and second nature Not Marxism, or anarchy
Katie McShane
"Why Environmental Ethic Shouldn't Give up on Intrinsic Value" need for concept of intrinsic value environmental problems aren't fundamentally scientific need alternative ways of valuing nature relationship between the kind of value we think an entity has and the attitude we take toward it.
Environmental effects on health
: A wide range of toxic chemicals, with an equally wide distribution of respective concentrations, is found in waste streams. These compounds may be present in concentrations that alone may pose a threat to human health or may have a synergistic/cumulative effect due to the presence of other compounds. Exposure to hazardous wastes has been linked to many types of cancer, chronic illnesses, and abnormal reproductive outcomes such as birth defects, low birth weights, and spontaneous abortions. Many studies have been performed on major toxic chemicals found at hazardous waste sites incorporating epidemiological or animal tests to determine their toxic effects.
Environmental Justice Movement Begins September 15, 1982
A PCB landfill protest in Warren County, North Carolina - a predominantly poor, African-American area - launches the environmental justice movement. Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in decisions on development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies.
Ethics
A behavioral system that regulates individual behavior in order to facilitate social cooperation. Abilities and dispositions necessary for morality: sympathy, empathy, generosity, ability to control behavior, suppress impulses and desires, and do what we have god reason to do. challenges: amoralism, theism, relativism
Intrinsic value
A being has value of its own, independent of its usefulness to others. Need for the concept (McShane) 1. env. problems aren't solely scientific. 2. need to think of other ways of valuing nature 3. connection between what value we give a being and how we treat it. Criticisms: 1. things can possess value independently of other things suggest and atomistic picture of the world. 2. commit us to a doubtful picture of the world. 3. unnecessary, we do not need to work up a theory to show importance.
Environmental racism
A violation of the principles of environmental justice wherein communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of toxic dumping while being systematically excluded from discussions and decision-making concerning matters of environmental policy. Throughout the U.S., and the rest of the world, communities of color are adversely affected by industrial and agricultural toxins, dirty water and dirty air, and the placement of incinerators, waste dumping facilities, and waste storage facilities. Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism.
Ethical behavior
Acting in ways consistent with what society and individuals typically think are good values. Ethical behavior tends to be good for business and involves demonstrating respect for key moral principles that include honesty, fairness, equality, dignity, diversity and individual rights.
EPA Takes National Action on Air Quality April 30, 1971
Administrator Ruckelshaus announces national standards on six common pollutants: sulfur oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, photochemical oxidants, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. This was four years ahead of the regulation deadline set by the Clean Air Act.
EPA Bans DDT June 14, 1972
After public concerns about the health effects of the widely-used pesticide DDT, EPA bans its use and requires extensive review of all pesticides.
Biocentric
All beings have equal intrinsic value. Human beings have no greater value than any other creature, for we are just ordinary citizens in the biotic community, with no more rights than amoebae or bacteria. "Life-centred" where the well-being of each living thing is considered to be all that matters, everything else being valued only as a means to that end. Example: Taylor. The term is also used for ethics that value life itself, or biosphere, where the interests of individuals are valued largely or solely for the sake of the biosphere. Example: Callicott. Thus, biocentrism may be individualistic or holistic
Islam
All life is "creatures of God" and therefore animal abuse, factory farming, vivisection, and hunting are viewed unfavorably
Formation/role of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
An administrative agency created by executive order in 1970. The EPA is charged with conducting and evaluating research, monitoring environmental quality, setting standards, enforcing those standards, assisting the states in meeting standards and goals, and educating the public
Biocentric/ecocentric preservation vs anthropologic
Anthropocentrism is the idea that the earth and its resources exists for human consumption. People who hold this view believe that we ought to protect the earth for future generations. Anthropocentrism often focuses on fixing the problem of limited resources through the use of technology rather than a reduction in consumption. Biocentrism views animals as important beings. Stereotypically, biocentrics are against harming other life forms for their own ends - many of them are vegetarians or vegans. Ecocentrism holds that humans are only one part of the complicated system that is the earth. Ecocentrism believes that everything has intrinsic value and emphasized the interconnectedness of all life.
Anthropocentric vs. non-anthropocentric ethical approaches
Anthropocentrism: the view that the nonhuman world has value only because it directly or indirectly serves human interests Nonanthropocentrism: denial of anthropocentrism; the view that it isn‟t the case that the nonhuman world has value only because it directly or indirectly serves human interests.
Buddhism
Believers are not to kill any living creature in the environment because the separation of humans as something distinct from the environment is an illusion.
Christianity
Believers are supposed to be "stewards of the Earth" and environment.
Hinduism
Believers worship the sun, stars, rivers, trees and the animals
Ancient Greece
Climate has a significant effect on human health, temperament, and intelligence.
Clean Air Act of 1970 December 31, 1970
Congress authorizes EPA to set national air quality, auto emission, and anti-pollution standards. The standards led to the production of the catalytic converter in 1973 by New Jersey's Engelhard Corporation. In its first 20 years, the Clean Air Act prevented more than 200,000 premature deaths by significantly reducing the presence of lead, sulfur dioxide and other harmful pollutants in the air.
Clean Water Act October 18, 1972
Congress passes the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The purpose of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain our nation's waters by preventing pollution, providing assistance to publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities, and maintaining the integrity of wetlands
Safe Drinking Water Act December 16, 1974
Congress passes the Safe Drinking Water Act, allowing EPA to regulate the quality of public drinking water.
Environmental justice
EPA defines Environmental Justice (EJ) as the "fair treatment for people of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the development of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." Fair treatment means that no group of people, including a racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies.
Deep ecology
Ecological philosophy that recognizes inherent worth of being aside from utility. nature is ontologically independent. coined by Arne Naess attempting to describe the deeper more spiritual approach to nature. goes beyond factual science criticisms: misanthropic, western imperialism, what to do when vital interests come into conflict, too abstract.
Official Formation of EPA
Following President Richard Nixon's 'Reorganization Plan No. 3' issued in July 1970, EPA is officially established on December 2nd, 1970. The agency consolidates federal research, monitoring and enforcement activities in a single agency. EPA's mission is to protect human health by safeguarding the air we breathe, water we drink and land on which we live.
Anthropocentrism
Human centered Deep ecologists critical
Ruth Harrison-Animal Machines
In 1964 she published Animal Machines, which describes intensive poultry and livestock farming. The book was said to have exposed the whole reality of intensive farming. It was published in seven countries and was the inspiration for the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes.
metaethics
In philosophy, metaethics—sometimes known as analytic ethics—is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. Another way of saying it is that metaethics is reasoning about the presuppositions behind or underneath a normative ethical view or theory. Metaethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being ethical theory and applied ethics. Ethical theory and applied ethics comprise normative ethics. In the twentieth century, most work in ethics by academic philosophers was concerned with metaethics.
Instrumental or extrinsic values vs. intrinsic values
Instrumental Value: A value that is attributed to something as a means to something that is considered to have intrinsic value. A kind of extrinsic value. Something that has value only because it helps achieve something else, or that you value only for its use; you may value a desk instrumentally, because it helps you achieve what you want to. Intrinsic Value, Intrinsic Worth: A value that is attributed to something as an end and not just as a means; is believed to have value in and for itself, for its own sake. Intrinsic value is mentioned in the NZ Conservation Act 1986, but not defined. In the Resource Management Act 1991, intrinsic values are defined in relation to ecosystems only. Extrinsic Value: A value that is attributed to something because of its relation to something else that is considered to have intrinsic value.
Muir/Pinchot
John Muir and Gifford Pinchot were two men who held very different ideas about the environment. John Muir believed that the wilderness should be preserved. Gifford Pinchot thought that the environment should be conserved. Both men were leaders in the environmental movement during the nineteenth century.
First Earth Day April 22, 1970
More than 20 million Americans participate in one of the largest grassroots community service movements in our history. Earth Day is now celebrated every year by almost 1 billion people worldwide.
Arne Naess: Deep Ecology
Naess saw two different forms of environmentalism, not necessarily incompatible with each other. One he called the "long-range deep ecology movement" and the other, the "shallow ecology movement." The word "deep" in part referred to the level of questioning of our purposes and values when arguing in environmental conflicts. The "deep" movement involves deep questioning, right down to fundamental root causes. The short-term, shallow approach stops before the ultimate level of fundamental change, often promoting technological fixes (e.g. recycling, increased automotive efficiency, export-driven monocultural organic agriculture) based on the same consumption-oriented values and methods of the industrial economy. The long-range deep approach involves redesigning our whole systems based on values and methods that truly preserve the ecological and cultural diversity of natural systems. The distinguishing and original characteristics of the deep ecology movement were its recognition of the inherent value of all living beings and the use of this view in shaping environmental policies. Those who work for social changes based on this recognition are motivated by love of nature as well as for humans. They recognize that we cannot go on with industrialism's "business as usual." Without changes in basic values and practices, we will destroy the diversity and beauty of the world, and its ability to support diverse human cultures.
Safer Drinking Water June 25, 1977
National drinking water standards went into effect for the first time. For the first time, all public water suppliers were required to test their public water routinely and notify their customers if water was not up to EPA standards.
Dale Jameison
Nature's Future" I=PAT need voluntary reductions in fertility for stable population. We should deny people food because more will die if we don't. 3 scenarios: environmental catastrophe, increased inequality and env. degradation, change in lifestyle for privileged people. "Climate Change, Responsibility, and Justice" Two kinds of risks- linear and non-linear practical, theoretical, prudential, and ethical responsibility. respect for nature
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) October 11, 1976
President Gerald Ford signs the Toxic Substances Control Act to curtail environmental and health risks posed by the growing number of synthetic and organic chemicals in consumer products and the environment.
Clean Water Act of 1977 December 28, 1977
President Jimmy Carter signs the Clean Water Act, amending the 1972 version. The Act stressed the importance of toxic pollutant control. A construction grant over five years created thousands of jobs, aided state and local planning, and encouraged experimentation with new water treatment methods.
Aldo Leopold's The Land Ethic
Published in 1949 as the finale to A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic" essay is a call for moral responsibility to the natural world. At its core, the idea of a land ethic is simply caring: about people, about land, and about strengthening the relationships between them.
Rachel Carson: "Silent Spring"
Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring,' a critical look at pollution in the United States, jump-starts the environmental movement. Carson, a birdwatcher, discovered that heavy use of pesticides was killing off birds and making the forests 'silent.' She also wrote about harmful chemicals used for defoliation in the Vietnam War.
John Muir
Sierra Club, national parks: (1838-1914). Pioneer American environmentalist, often seen as a proto-deep ecologist. Muir advocated strict preservation and founded the Sierra Club, the first and the most influential wilderness preservation organization. He was instrumental in setting up the National Parks movement via his influence on the first President Roosevelt. His heritage is global, because NP systems were set up in many countries (including NZ) in imitation of the American model. Muir and Pinchot fought many battles over American environmental policy, which Pinchot eventually won.
Rachel Carson
Silent Spring: Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was the book Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. It also inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Judaism
Teaches that the environment, like humankind, has certain unalienable rights that are endowed to it by its Creator. As such they should not be summarily dismissed or violated.
John Muir -The Yosemite vs Gifford Pinchot
The Fight for Conservation: Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings has inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. Today Muir is referred to as the "Father of the National Parks". Back at the turn of the 20th Century Gifford Pinchot and John Muir had radically contrasting views of how to manage America's wild lands and they worked tirelessly lobbying Congress and convincing Presidents to agree with them to start protecting open space. Muir promoted preservation and Pinchot advocated for conservation.
Gaia Theory
The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis proposing that the biosphere and the physical components of the Earth (atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere) are closely integrated to form a complex interacting system that maintains the climatic and biogeochemical conditions on Earth in a preferred homeostasis. Originally proposed by James Lovelock as the earth feedback hypothesis, it was named the Gaia Hypothesis after the Greek supreme goddess of Earth. The hypothesis is frequently described as viewing the Earth as a single organism. Lovelock and other supporters of the idea now call it Gaia theory, regarding it as a scientific theory and not mere hypothesis, since they believe it has passed predictive tests
James Lovelock: Gaia hypothesis
The Gaia theory was developed in the late 1960's by Dr. James Lovelock, a British Scientist and inventor, shortly after his work with NASA in determining that there was probably no life on Mars. His research led to profound new insights about life on Earth. The theory gained an early supporter in Lynn Margulis, a microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts. In the past 15-20 years, many of the mechanisms by which Earth self-regulates have been identified. As one example, it has been shown that cloud formation over the open ocean is almost entirely a function of the metabolism of oceanic algae that emit a large sulfur molecule (as a waste gas) that becomes the condensation nuclei for raindrops. Previously, it was thought that cloud formation over the ocean was a purely chemical/physical phenomenon. The cloud formation not only helps regulate Earth's temperature, it is an important mechanism by which sulfur is returned to terrestrial ecosystems.
Garrett Hardin
The Tragedy of the Commons: Thought experiment in which demonstrates that any ethics is mistaken if it allows a growing population to steadily increase its exploitation of the ecosystem which supports it. An Abstract of "A General Statement of Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons"
President Nixon Signs NEPA January 1, 1970
The bill forms the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to advise the President on the environment and review federal agencies' Environmental Impact Statements, required for projects that would affect the environment.
Speciesism
The view that one's own species is superior to all others and is alone worthy of moral consideration.
Environmental injustice around the world
Throughout the U.S., and the rest of the world, communities of color are adversely affected by industrial and agricultural toxins, dirty water and dirty air, and the placement of incinerators, waste dumping facilities, and waste storage facilities. Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism
Gifford Pinchot
U. S. Forest Service: (1865-1946). Pinchot (pronounced PinSHOW) pioneered the American conservation movement, in the sense of "wise use" of forests and other natural resources for the material benefit of presnt generations, though with an eye to the future. He founded both the American Forest Service and the Yale Forestry School. He strongly opposed "lock up" preservation policies and his views largely prevailed over those of Muir. Forestry policies in many countries, including NZ, were greatly influenced by Pinchot's views.
Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus December 3, 1970
William D. Ruckelshaus serves as the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Richard Nixon. During his early tenure he oversaw a seven-month hearing on DDT, a carcinogenic pesticide, after which he instituted a ban of DDT. DDT was the pesticide featured in Rachel Carson's 1962 book 'Silent Spring' as a threat to wildlife, and perhaps to humans.
necessary condition
a condition that, if lacking, guaranteed that a statement is false or that something won't occur.
Ecocentric
a philosophy or perspective that places intrinsic value on all living organisms, their natural environment and abiotic environment (ie rivers, ecosystems), regardless of their perceived usefulness or importance to human beings. The view advocated by Aldo Leopold in his highly influential essay "The Land Ethic" (1949), that nature itself, not only humans or sentient creatures, has inherent moral value
Copenhagen Accord
a political agreement struck by world leaders at the 2009 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, calls on participating countries to pledge specific actions they will undertake to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This represents the first time ever that all of the world's major economies have offered explicit international climate pledges.
Biocentric individualism
all living beings have intrinsic value, against the objection that it is contrary to the average persons intuitions. Victoria Davion
Erin Brockovich
as instrumental in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993. The case alleged contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium (also written as "chromium VI", "Cr-VI" or "Cr-6") in the southern California town of Hinkley. At the center of the case was a facility, the Hinkley compressor station, built in 1952 as a part of a natural-gas pipeline connecting to the San Francisco Bay Area. Between 1952 and 1966, PG&E used hexavalent chromium in a cooling tower system to fight corrosion.
Naturalistic fallacy
assume that what we value is what we should value
Utilitarian conservation vs. biocentric preservation
biocentric preservation: a philosophy that emphasizes the fundamental right of living organisms to exist and to pursue their own goods. Utilitarian conservation: philosophy that resources should be used for the greater good for the greatest number for the longest time.
Deep Ecology
core principle is the claim that, like humanity, the living environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning "why" and "how" and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical questions about the impacts of human life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely anthropocentric environmentalism, which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for exploitation by and for humans purposes, which excludes the fundamental philosophy of deep ecology. Deep ecology seeks a more holistic view of the world we live in and seeks to apply to life the understanding that separate parts of the ecosystem (including humans) function as a whole.
TEK (traditional ecological knowledge)
describes aboriginal, indigenous, or other forms of traditional knowledges regarding sustainability of local resources. TEK has become a field of study in anthropology, and refers to "a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by accumulation of TEK and handed down through generations through traditional songs, stories and beliefs. [It concerns] the relationship of living beings (including human) with their traditional groups and with their environment."
Garret Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons
economic theory of a situation within a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action. Hardin discussed problems that cannot be solved by technical means, as distinct from those with solutions that require "a change only in the techniques of the natural sciences, demanding little or nothing in the way of change in human values or ideas of morality". Hardin focused on human population growth, the use of the Earth's natural resources, and the welfare state. Hardin argued that if individuals relied on themselves alone, and not on the relationship of society and man, then the number of children had by each family would not be of public concern. Parents breeding excessively would leave fewer descendants because they would be unable to provide for each child adequately. Such negative feedback is found in the animal kingdom. Hardin said that if the children of improvident parents starved to death, if overbreeding was its own punishment, then there would be no public interest in controlling the breeding of families.
Utilitarianism Environmental
ethics surrounds the ethical relationship between people and the world we live in. Utilitarianism is recognized as a teleological theory, moral actions are the outcomes of an actions opposed to the action itself. A moral theory that says that what is moral right is whatever produces the greatest overall amount of pleasure (hedonistic utilitarianism) or happiness (eudaimonistic utilitarianism). Some utilitarians (act utilitarians) claim that we should weigh the consequences of each individual action, while others (rule utilitarians) maintain that we should look at the consequences of adopting particular rules of conduct. Positive utilitarianism attempts to maximize the amount of happiness, pleasure, preferences, etc, as in the maxim, 'The greatest good for the greatest number.' Negative utilitarianism is the attempt to minimize the amount of misery. An action is right if and only if it produces at least as much good for all affected by the action as any alternative action the agent could do instead. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethic. Example: Singer.
Land ethic
expansion of ethics to include non human members of the biotic community. An action is right when it promotes the integrity, stability, and beauty of the land and wrong when it does otherwise. Individuals are members of a community.
Divine Command Theory
is a thing right because the Gods command it, or do the Gods command it because it is right? In opposition to moral relativism criticisms: implies that morality is based on God's whim, calling God "good" makes no sense, implies humans are morally blind and we rely on God's knowledge.
Deep ecology
is an ecological and environmental philosophy promoting the inherent worth of non-human living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, plus a radical restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. A term coined by Norwegian philosopher Aarne Naess who at 88 is the world's oldest environmental philosopher (he also calls it "ecosophy"). Deep ecologists ask us to look into deeply into our relationship with nature; to develop self-realization through a feeling of oneness with nature; to reject materialism; and to go beyond the concerns of "shallow" or "reformist" anthropocentric concerns about issues such as pollution. There is no satisfactory definition of "deep ecology"; Devall and Sessions present the most complete account.
Speciesism
is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents. The notion that human animals are superior to other animals. The term was invented by Richard Ryder and popularized by Peter Singer, on an analogy with racism and sexism. Speciesists value only the interests and well-being of their own species: other species exist only to further the interest of the speciesist. Singer believes that the "Western" ethic and worldview are speciesist.
Environmental Justice
is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Ethical egoism
is the normative theory that the promotion of one's own good is in accordance with morality. ... Further, the deontologist asserts the application of yet another moral sphere which ought to be pursued, namely, that of impartial duties.
Relativism
it is not possible to make objective ethical judgments Implications: no objective basis for praising or condemning anyone "who and I to say who is right and who is wrong?"
Principle of utility
one ought to do that which maximizes the good and minimizes the bad. Balance of pleasure over pain.
utilitarianism
overall good for the greatest number of people critiques: difficulty quantifying qualitative goods, justice/rights, backward looking and reasoning.
Anthropocentric
regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animals. "Human-centered" ethic or world view where human well-being or interests are considered to be all that matters, everything else being valued only as a means
Fire on the Cuyahoga River June 29, 1969
the Cuyahoga River in Ohio becomes so polluted that it catches on fire. The fire helped spur an avalanche of water pollution control activities such as the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. By bringing national attention to water pollution issues, the Cuyahoga River fire was one of the events that led to the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Gaia hypothesis
the theory, put forward by James Lovelock, that living matter on the earth collectively defines and regulates the material conditions necessary for the continuance of life. The planet, or rather the biosphere, is thus likened to a vast self-regulating organism.
Subject of a life
to be able to be a conscious being with a welfare that is important to oneself independent of one's usefulness to others. Inherent, not instrumental value Tom Regan
Instrumental value
value is a function of how it might be used by others or what it might mean to others.
Biocentrism
value of non-human nature 4 basic components (taylor) 1. humans and other beings are of equal level of membership on earth. 2. interdependence between ecosystems. 3. each living being is a teleological center of life 4. humans are not superior
Aldo Leopold: Land Ethic
was a forester, wildlife manager and, later, academic. He is often seen as the Father of Environmental Ethics and his words as Holy Writ (see Callicott, text, 124). Despite Callicott's claims, Leopold was not, in my opinion, a philosopher - but he was a "founding father" of environmental ethics.
Kantian ethics
we can be held responsible only for the things we can control. critiques: 1. so long as I am treating people correctly, no ethical basis exists to evaluate the choices I make. 2. greatest challenge is to specify rights claims 3. no account of what is good, valuable or worthy. consumption is no better than being ecologically sound if no wrong is done.
