ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS The philosophical debate regarding the environment has branched into two: One centers on ethical obligations regarding nature and our responsibilities to future generations. This view has been referred to as Stewardship-anthropocentrism, or simply stewardship. Another view, called “deep ecology”, is more controversial. It holds that we have obligations to nature. Obligations to nature include animals and even trees and mountains, which would be seen as bearers of legal rights. In this view people are seen as a mere part of nature, although with the capacity to disturb it. 2

Few people question the fittingness of living in harmony with nature. However, a deep ecology goes beyond this, diluting humanity with nature. This radically materialistic view contrasts with a more widely accepted outlook: that human, though part of nature, also transcend it because of their inner world, which expresses a significant spiritual dimension. These two anthropological views have important consequences for the environmental ethics. 3

Human beings are the central fact of the earth, and only they possess dignity and authentic rights. Stewardship is a philosophy that holds that development should be, above all, both human and sustainable, which means employing material goods with moderation and a sense of responsibility, as a tool for human flourishing, with concern for future generations. A managerial stewardship of the environment reconciles respect for nature and the attainment of reasonable profits. 4

The immediate consequences of the discussion above highlight the following aspects of environmental ethics: Animal welfare Responsible use of resources Avoid all form of pollution 5

Limitation of earth resources

We live in a world of limits. Population increase, unprecedented consumption, toxic waste, pollution, depletion of resources and species, and climate change have brought humanity face to face with the limits of the natural world and the environment. This realization makes it imperative that we rethink our core values and the way(s) we live. In addition, we must also rethink our relationships to the environment and obligations to one another, including our posterity.

Role of environmental ethics 1. Recognize environmental ethical issues. 2. Understand what lies behind our attitudes toward the natural environment and everything in it (plants, trees, animals). 3. Discern whether we have a moral obligation to preserve and protect nature. 4. Understand and deal with the question "To what extent do animals and plants have rights?" 5. Know and understand the arguments for and against the use and exploitation of the natural environment and everything in it. 6. Recognize the importance of non-Western ethical perspectives for addressing environmental issues.

Environmental ethical issues Waste and Destruction of Natural Resources As I pointed out, we have assumed that our natural resources will last forever, that our water, air, oil, minerals, earth, plants, and trees will always be there for us to use and will never be depleted. However, in recent times we have discovered that there is a limit to everything, including our natural resources.

Exploiting, Misusing, and Polluting the Environment As our industrialization and technology increased, so did the toxicity of the waste, and we found ourselves burying in the land or dumping in bodies of water very dangerous and poisonous materials, such as strong chemicals, atomic waste, and other dangerous materials that seriously affected our whole environment as well as us its inhabitants.

Exploiting, Abusing, and Destroying Animals One of the most controversial ethical issues concerning the environment is the question of animal rights and whether we have moral obligations toward animals. These issues encompass destroying animals for food or for parts of their bodies (e.g., furs, skins, or tusks); hunting them for sport; and using them for scientific and other experimentation. Hunting and Destroying Animals for Food and Body Parts

How did we get here? Attitudes Platonic Dualism: The Beginnings of Western Philosophy Both Socrates and Plato, then, tended to deemphasize the importance of this world as opposed to the world of ideas where they felt that ultimate truths could be found, but only through human reason

This dualism enabled the Greeks to think abstractly for the first time in their history, but it also tended to split them away from nature in that they, as reasoning beings, saw themselves as different from and more important than nature and the external world, because they and no other beings in nature could attain the "real" world of ideas that Plato thought actually existed.

Judeo-Christian Teachings in the Bible Taught that God is a supernatural, spiritual being who shares His spirituality with human beings. No other being in nature, according to the teachings in both traditions, has any spirituality. Makes nature and everything in it subservient to human beings and their wishes, implying that nature exists strictly for their use and has little or no value in itself

The Rise of Science and Scientific Progress As science and technology advanced, nature became more and more subservient to human needs and desires, and the environment and animals were used and exploited without regard to any inherent value they might have. After all, so the attitude went, we are the only beings with intrinsic value.

Industrialization most nations in the West and many in the East have become highly industrialized, requiring a greater use of natural resources and also causing a greater deleterious effect on the environment because of the need for more land, and air, and a greater disposal of waste.

Encroachment of Nature by Civilization As we have moved out of crowded cities into the countryside nearby and created suburbs, we have eliminated more and more of the natural environment and replaced it with our own

some of the arguments which have been advanced to show that it is wrong to justify our concern for future generations by attributing rights to those generations Future generations do not now exist and may never exist. Future people presently exist only in the imagination, and imaginary entities cannot be acted on whatsoever way except in imagination If future generations have rights then the present must be sacrificed for the future Because we don’t know what interests future generations will have, we cannot say what rights they have.

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