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Environmental ethics

Whereas a relationship with nature is given, the nature of the relationship is not.
 (Sandler 2010)

One of the most central questions within ethics is “How should we live?”, and to find an answer we need to provide an account of what actions we ought and ought not to perform. There are several examples of what guides us in our daily lives, such as social norms; surrendering our seat on the bus to elders and pregnant women is common curtsy, we should not steal, and we ought do unto others as we would have them do to us.

Environmental ethics is a discipline within ethics that attempts to understand our relationship with nature, and tries to determine the norms that should govern our interactions with it (Sandler 2005).

How then, should we think about and act towards nature and all the living beings we share the Earth with?

Anthropocentrism

Within environmental ethics there are two central views. One view is anthropocentrism, a human centered approach towards our environment. Accordingly, humans are the number one concern, and nature is considered valuable only as a means to achieve human goals. When something is strictly valuable as a means to an end, we refer to it as having instrumental value (Brennan, Andrew, Yeuk-Sze Lo 2008).

According to anthropocentrism, we advocate preventive means to avoid the extinction of species, preserving the rainforest, and reducing Co2 emission because it is to our benefit (Taylor 1981). It can be viewed as beneficial because we regard it as important for our own survival and comfort; ensuring a supply of food, clothing, and down dunes, or simply providing the opportunity for us (by aesthetic appeal) to enjoy a walk in the forest.

Non-anthropocentrism

The other view, where human beings are seen as only one element in the ecosystem, is referred to as non-anthropocentrism (Guha 1989). This view argues that some or all living beings have what is called intrinsic value, i.e., value in their own right independent of any importance they may have to others. That is to say, a stray cat has a value in its own right, not just as a potential pet, or an excellent animal to prevent rats from overrunning the farm. The rainforest and the living species within it can be regarded in the same way, as having value independent of others.

Biocentrism is a field, within the discipline of environmental ethics, which assumes a non-anthropocentric view. Biocentrists try to answer questions about what our relationship with nature is and how we ought to behave towards it, some of which may be relevant to the questions encountered in the context of Earth Hour (see Home):

Should all living beings be taken into consideration when judgments about the environment and the appropriate actions regarding it take place?
If so, is it merely because they are of value to us, or is it because living beings in fact have a value in themselves?

References

Brennan, Andrew, Yeuk-Sze Lo 2008. “Environmental Ethics” Available at Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Guha, Ramaehandra 1984 “Radical American Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique” Environmental Ethics Vol.11
Sandler, Roland 2010 «Environmental Virtue Ethics» in Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions Edited by David R Keller Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Taylor, Paul “The Ethics of Respect for Nature,” Environmental Ethics, 3:3 (Fall, 1981)

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