THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE ENVIRONMENT

“The Earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed”. - Mahatma Gandhi

What is the meaning of environment?

It is the totality of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things. It
provides condition for development and growth as well as of danger and damage.

What is a human person?

A human person is a living being that contains a real and existing power to direct its own development.
He/she is directed towards fulfillment through perfect, unconditional and infinite Truth, Love, Goodness,
Beauty, and Unity. He/she could attain this if all the proper conditions are met.

How does philosophy define man’s relationship with the environment?

Heraclitus, a Western philosopher in the ancient period once argued that the world is in constant
change. To him, the world involves in an ongoing process governed by the law of change. This simply
means that everything in this world is continuously moving and flowing in some respect. The same
principle holds true to our environment.

Our environment undergoes an unending process of transformation manifested by the rapid growth and
development of our society. There is the invention of different appliances and gadgets, building of tall
edifice and infrastructure projects, road widening and concreting of farm to market roads, and
production of cars and other vehicles.

However, these developments are coupled with different environmental issues that cause harmful
effects in our lives which need to be addressed properly. Environmental Philosophy or Environmental
Ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings with the
environment and its non-human contents. These environmental philosophers tackle issues such as
humanity’s role in the natural world, the interaction between nature and human activities, and
humanity’s response to environmental challenges.

Philosophical Views on Nature and Man’s Relationship with the Environment Views Description

Anthropocentrism

• focuses on the significant role of humankind in the world and considers nature as the means by which
humans are able to meet their needs and survive

• believes that humans are the most important species on the planet and they are free to transform
nature and use its resources

Stewardship

• man has a sense of responsibility to manage and care for the environment

• man has moral responsibility towards nature, it means that the person has: the knowledge of the
consequence of the act; the capacity to do the act; the choice to do it
Biocentrism

• believes that humans are not the only significant species on the planet, and that all organisms have
inherent value and should be protected

• drives the activities of humane organizations that advocate the ethical treatment of animals (R.A. 8485
or The Animal Welfare Act of 1998)

Ecocentrism – • places great value on ecosystems and biological communities

• non-individuals (the Earth as an interconnected ecosystem, species, natural processes)

have moral standing or intrinsic value and are deserving of respect

• individuals must be concerned about the whole community of life/nature

• humans should strive to preserve ecological balance and stability

• promotes the idea that order and balance in nature brings about stability and beauty

Deep Ecology – • sees the natural world as being maintained by the interrelationship among living
organisms and that every living thing on the planet is dependent on each other for survival.

Gaia Hypothesis

• Gaia = land, mother; Greek primal goddess; Mother Nature, Mother Earth

• suggests that non-organic elements in the planet play a significant role in maintaining balance in the
environment as they interact with living organisms to regulate the various systems that enable life to
continue thriving on Earth.

Ecofeminism

• rejects patriarchal dualisms; the domination of nature by men is wrong; is similar to and related to the
domination of women by men

• must break the pattern of “power over” relationships; will benefit both women and the natural world

Our society has progressed but it has damaged the nature along the way. Likewise, nature has begun to
damage society in the recent years. The deadly catastrophes that we have experienced such as the
strong typhoons like Yolanda, soil erosions and flashfloods, water and air pollution and many more have
somehow resulted from our act of abusing and exploiting our environment. It can cause disorder that
will result to diseases and accidents.

How do philosophical views influence environmental action?

Human beings and the environment are interconnected. Whatever we do to the environment will come
back to us. We need to develop an ecological self and treat the environment as partner in the
preservation of life.
Environmentalism is an ideology that promotes the protection and preservation of the environment. As
humans we have the responsibility to respect, protect, and preserve the natural world. Environmental
ethics is the study of the ethical basis of environment or discussion of the ethical basis of environmental
protection. This emerged in the 1970’s, advocating human responsibility and action with regard to
environmental issues with the following main ideas:

• All non-human elements of the world, including animals and natural resources have intrinsic value and
should be preserved.

• The preservation of the environment will benefit humans by providing for the needs of present and
future generations.

• Humankind has a responsibility to safeguard the planet as stewards of creation.

Varied views that resulted from Environmental Ethics

• Social ecology applies an ecological and ethical approach in analyzing society, and sees a relationship
between social problems and environmental problems. Society should, therefore, implement changes in
order to address issues regarding the environment.

• Environmental justice which refers to the fair distribution of environmental benefits, as well as the
burden of meeting environmental challenges greatly influenced the concepts of climate ethics, which is
an area of study that focuses on the ethical dimensions of climate change; and climate justice which is a
view that considers climate and environmental issues as significant political and ethical issues.

• Environmental aesthetics is a philosophical view that considers natural beauty in the context of
maintaining order and balance in the environment.

Stewardship of creation is our human vocation. Protection of the environment is a Biblically epic task
straight from God that we have to uphold. Nature and everything in it are God’s creation that we need
to preserve.

Sustainability or sustainable development focuses on reconciling human activities and economic

development with the protection of environment. This is the development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In other
words, while we are improving our lifestyle and well-being, we are preserving the natural resources and
ecosystems. Sustainability is concerned with the three important principles known as “3Es”:

Environmental Integrity, Economic Efficiency, and Equity. Environmental integrity refers to maintaining
the state of the environment. This means that human activities should not unduly disrupt the
ecosystems and human communities located in the area. Economic efficiency refers to prudence in
decision-making regarding the use of resources to ensure that there is minimum to zero waste. Equity
demands that we use our natural resources in such a manner that these are conserved so that the next
generation will be able to use them. We should also possess the values of prudence and frugality in
using the resources. Prudence is the ability to regulate one’s actions and behavior, while frugality is
being thrifty with the use of one’s resources.