PHIL 322 Final

What is Leopold's biotic pyramid?

/ Humans \ / Carnivores \ /Birds & Rodents \ / Insects \ / Plants \ / Soil \ ------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was Taylor's Biocentric outlook?

A biologically-informed, philosophical worldview about humans, nature, and the place of human civilization in the natural world. Four main pillars: 1. Humans are nonprivileged members of the earth's community of life. 2. The natural world is an interdependent system 3. All organisms (and only organisms) are teleological (goal-directed) centers of life (think of plants seeking light) that have goods of their own (welfare interests) that we can morally consider for their own sake. 4. The belief in human superiority is an unjustified bias

What was Taylor's attitude of respect for nature?

A moral commitment to treat all living organisms--including humans--as having equal inherent worth (Biocentrism) (Individualism) (Egalitarian)

Deep Ecology

A movement or a body of concepts that considers humans no more important than other species and that advocates a corresponding radical readjustment of the relationships between humans and nature. Proponents of deep ecology believe that the world does not exist as a resource to be freely exploited by humans.

Biocentrism

A philosophy or perspective that humans and all other species are members of Earth's community, all species are part of a system of interdependence, all living organisms pursue their own "good" in their own ways. and that human beings are not inherently superior to other living things. Biocentrism in general prioritizes individuals in nature, including humans, but does not assign humans higher priority.

Ecocentrism

A philosophy or perspective that places intrinsic value on all living organisms and their natural environment, regardless of their perceived usefulness or importance to human beings.

Land Ethics

A philosophy that seeks to guide the actions when humans use or make changes to the land.

Egalitarianism

A political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals from birth, usually meaning held equal under the law and in society at large. It is a belief in human equality, especially with respect to social, political and economic rights and privileges, and advocates the removal of inequalities among people and of discrimination (on grounds such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc)

Sentient

Ability to feel or perceive things

Can having legal rights ensure environmental rights?

According to Christopher Stone, yes

Objective Value

An object's value is dependent of human valuing The value is supposed to reside inside the object itself. Water is of value, right? If we dismiss subjective values, then one possibility is that the value isn't just our own opinion, but it actually is an aspect of the object. So water must have some 'value' characteristic that we can somehow observe. This is considered objective because the 'value' is out there, where anyone can see it

What is the position of human beings in relation to environment in different theories?

Anthro - Humans are ahead of nature Nonanthro - Humans are equal or behind nature

What are the main differences between anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches?

Anthropocentrism views humans as the centre of ethical concern, while the environment is often seen as a usable resource, there for our personal exploitation. Non-anthropocentrism takes a different approach to the environment, as it attaches intrinsic value to the nonhuman world, as well as the human world.

Bryan Norton

Argues that an environmental ethic cannot be derived, first, from rights or interests of nonhumans and, second, from rights or interests of future generations of humans. Argues that we should be looking at the argument of individualism versus nonindividualism and how it affects environmental ethics. (Non-anthropoectricsm)

Christopher Stone

Author of "Should Trees have Standing?", Professor on Environmental Law. Argues that natural objects and areas should have legal rights, Stone gave formal voice to the "land ethic" advocated a generation earlier by Aldo Leopold. (Ecocentrism)

Subjective Value

Basically what this means is that something is a value because you choose it to be. Anything you decide is a value is valuable.

What is Bookchins's view on hierarchies?

Bookchin claims that the hierarchies of power prevalent within modern societies have fostered a hierarchical relationship between humans and the natural world.

Murray Bookchin

Bookchin claims that the hierarchies of power prevalent within modern societies have fostered a hierarchical relationship between humans and the natural world. Bookchin points out that within an ecosystem, there is no species more important than another, instead relationships are mutualistic and interrelated. Bookchin argues that the liberation of both humans and nature are actually dependent on one another. (Social Ecologist) Criticizes deep ecology as hateful toward humans.

What is the relationship between cost/benefit analysis and environmental ethics?

Cost-Benefit Analysis affects environmental ethics by weighing the effect the theory would have on the economy

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with cost-benefit analysis?

Cost-Benefit Analysis has a utilitarian foundation, whereby costs and benefits are derived solely on the basis of whether impacts make members of society worse or better off. Thus it is entirely anthropocentric, and the people who count depends on the particular policy in question.

What is the focus on individuals v. species?

Could not gather enough research to answer this one

Aldo Leopold

Created Ecocentric Ethics, Coined the term Land Ethics in his book "A Sand County Almanac", Ecologist who was deeply concerned about the speed and impact of industrialization on the natural world and human-nature relationships. (Conservationist) (Ecocentrism) Three key aspects of the biotic community: 1.Intergity 2.Stability 3.Beauty

Paul Taylor

Created the theory of Biocentrism, sees groundless the claim that humans, by their very nature, are superior to other beings simply because they are rational forms of life. However, he acknowledged that humans have a moral responsibility (due to their unique decision-making faculties) to act in the best interest of other forms of life.

What is the denial of human superiority

Denying humans are superior to nature

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with Deontological ethics?

Deontological depends on the perspective of the philosopher.

Does a successful environmental theory need to be rights-based?

Depends on the individual

Who has the most compelling argument?

Depends on the individual

Who has the most practical argument?

Depends on the individual

What is the point of an ethical theory?

Ethical theories and principles are the foundations of ethical analysis because they are the viewpoints from which guidance can be obtained along the pathway to a decision. Can be carried out through prescriptive moral principles.

What is Norton's considered and felt preferences?

Felt preference is any desire or need of a human individual that can at least be temporarily stated by some specifiable experience of that individual. Considered preference is any desire or need that a human individual would express after careful deliberation, including judgment that the desire or need is consistent with a rationally adopted worldview.

Holistic Ethics

Holistic theories attempt to conceptualize the Earth as a single whole made up of all that exists on it. The interconnectedness of everything is one of the primary tenets of this approach and this is where adjudication is dealt with.

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with Utilitarian ethics?

In the utilitarian (anthropocentric) concept of value, ecosystems and the services they provide have value to human societies because people derive utility from their use, either directly or indirectly.

What does Norton (read: Google) describe individualism and non-individualism as?

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual. Non-individualism is the opposite of that.

Instrumental Value

Prerequisite for practical value. Something is said to have instrumental value if it is good because it provides the means for acquiring something else of value.

What are the pros and cons of strong anthropocentrism as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - Allow a society to make democratic decisions where decisions are made based on a majority, Benefits humans Con- Leads to mass exploitation of environment by humans, it may lead to extinctions of species due to proritzing humanity

What are the pros and cons of weak anthropocentrism as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - Can still benefit humans and can help nature be used responsibly Con - Nature is still being exploited for man's use

What are the pros and cons of non-anthropocentrism as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - Nature is equal or ahead of mankind Con - Human cannot innovate at the sake of environmental concerns, lacks public appeal

What are the pros and cons of a deep ecology approach as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - Nature is more valuable that Humans thus doesn't get damaged Con - not likely to have much influence on mainstream cultural thought

What are the pros and cons of an ecocentric approach as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - Recognizes a nature-centered system of values Con - Where do we draw the line between Humans and nature? Does every organism and landform have the same rights as humans?

What are the pros and cons of a biocentric approach as a foundation for a successful environmental ethic?

Pro - When humans stop being the only measure for environmental issues, the scope is expanded much wider Con - Where do we draw the line between Humans and nature? Does every organism have the same rights as humans?

Bill Devall and George Sessions

Recognize the two ultimate norms of deep ecology are self-realization and biocentric equality. In their 1985 book Deep Ecology,[10] Bill Devall and George Sessions describe a series of sources of deep ecology. They include the science of ecology itself, and cite its major contribution as the rediscovery in a modern context that "everything is connected to everything else." They point out that some ecologists and natural historians, in addition to their scientific viewpoint, have developed a deep ecological consciousness—for some a political consciousness and at times a spiritual consciousness. This is a perspective beyond the strictly human viewpoint, beyond anthropocentrism. A further scientific source for deep ecology adduced by Devall and Sessions is the "new physics", which they describe as shattering Descartes's and Newton's vision of the universe as a machine explainable in terms of simple linear cause and effect. They propose that Nature is in a state of constant flux and reject the idea of observers as existing independent of their environment. (Deep Ecology)

Inherent Value

Regan introduces the tenn "inherent value" to identify a value which is defined as distinct from and incornrmensurable with the intrinsic value of that being's experiences. Moreover, he argues that all moral agents and patients have equal inherent value

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with Virtue ethics?

Sandler's environmental virtue ethics is not anthropocentric. Sandler maintains that some environmental virtues are responsive to or aimed at the welfare of nonhuman entities without reference to human flourishing.

Intrinsic Value

Something is said to have intrinsic value if it is good ``in and of itself,'' i.e., not merely as a means for acquiring something else.

What is Stone's legal standing for natural objects?

Stone offers three premises that need to be applied to nature to give it Legal Standing 1.Legal action can be pursued at its behest 2.Injury to it can be taken into account 3.Relief must run to the benefit of

Strong vs Weak Anthropocentrism

Strong anthropocentrism objects only have value if they're valuable to humans, are essentially uncontrolled felt preferences. In the case of the environment, this promotes exploitation of resources. Weak anthropocentrism points out that nature can help to define human preferences and therefore should be used responsibly.

'good on its own'

Taylor's inherent worth

How does technology impact environmental ethics?

Technology negatively affects the environment by compromising human health and safety, endangering natural ecosystems and biodiversity, having a cumulative impact on global systems, and depleting natural resources. Technology positively affects the environment through the application of environmental science to solve problems caused by human environmental impact.

Teleological

Teleology is the study of goals, ends and purposes. A moral theory is regarded as teleological to the extent that it defines and explains right actions in terms of the bringing about some good state of affairs.

What makes something a matter of ethics?

That there is a simple, indefinable, unanalysable object of thought by reference to which it must be defined.

Non-anthropocentrism

The belief that describes when human beings do not regard themselves as the central and most significant entities in the universe, or the assessment of reality not exclusively through a human perspective.

Anthropocentrism

The belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet (in the sense that they are considered to have a moral status or value higher than that of all other organisms), or the assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective.

Social Ecology

The interactions within the social, institutional, and cultural contexts of people-environment relations that make up well-being

Deontological

The normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. It is sometimes described as "duty-" or "obligation-" or "rule-" based ethics, because rules "bind you to your duty."

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with intrinsic values?

The source of value is the valuer. Therefore, it is true to say that once the valuers disappear, so does the intrinsic value. And if no valuers exist, then no such "intrinsic" value would exist. "Subjective"(Anthropocentrism) The source of value is the object valued. So this kind of intrinsic value can never disappear as long as the object exists, no matter what is the truth about the beings who recognized it. "Objective" (Non-anthropocentrism)

What are the relationships among anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches with instrumental values?

The subjects giving something instrumental value could be humans (anthropocentrism) or animals (non anthropocentrism)

What were Bookchin's environmental/social problems?

Trade for profit, industrial expansion, and the identification of "progress" with corporate self-interest.

Utilitarian

Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is defined in various ways, but is usually related to the well-being of sentient entities. Utilitarianism is a 'consequentialist' ethic. John Stuart Mill's theory uses happiness for the majority as it's basis. Everyone should make choices for the good of the whole.

What is the importance of value theory in environmental ethics?

Value in ethics is important because it helps define the different ethical theories for what they stand for.

Peter Singer

Views that we should extend moral standing to other species of animal. He describes the criterion for moral standing is sentience: the capacity to feel pleasure and pain. For Singer, if an entity possesses the relevant type of consciousness, then that entity should be given equal consideration when we formulate our moral obligations. Note that the point is not that every sentient being should be treated equally, but that it should be considered equally. (Utilitarian)

Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory) is an approach to Ethics that emphasizes an individual's character as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (Deontology) or their consequences (Consequentialism/Utilitarian).

'Interests'

Who does it benefit?