5 LESSON 4 At the end of the lesson, the students must be able to: . notice disorder in an environment; 2. notice things that are not in proper place: and organize them in an aesthetic way; }. show that care for the environment contributes to health, well-being, and sustainable development; and demonstrate the virtues of prudence and frugality towards the environment, The belief that a person is a steward of God's creation seems to be just a myth today. Because of human activities, the environment is facing destruction which, in turn, puts the whole of humankind to its greatest challenge to date—survival. Humans and their environment are expected to coexist—the environment gives a person his/her basic necessities in life such as food, shelter, and all other things needed in order for him/her to survive; while the person, in return, must take care of the environment and ensure the future generations of the same benefits. However, humans went beyond their power to perform, and brought upon environment problems such as global warming, acidification, ecological imbalance, and pollution. At this point, the challenge for people is to prevent their own kind from facing extinction. Everyday, there are environmental warriors pressing their advocacy to save the environment. Everyday, they give humanity a glimmer of hope that the world would soon rise back to its former glory and beauty. It is hoped that people will realize that if they are the cause of the problem, they too can provide the solution. FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY 63 Scanned with CamScanner(cae: What is Environmental Ethics? Environmental ethics, also known as environmental philosophy, deals with the ethical relationship between a person and his/her environment. This discipline also takes into consideration the ethical responsibilities of a person in as far as his/her natural environment is concerned. This philosophical discipline was developed out of the growing awareness of the effects on the environment of the factors such as technology, industry, population, and even economic expansion. The primary task of environmental ethics is the outlining or defining of one’s moral obligations in the face of the worsening environmental concerns. In addressing such issues, environmental philosophy must take into consideration these two fundamental questions: What duties and responsibilities does a person have to the environment? Why must he/she fulfill such duties and obligations? To answer these fundamental questions, one must first realize the evolutionist perspective that every person is a creation of the environment and not the other way around. One owes everything to the environment and he/she is duty-bound to take care of it. Today, environmentalists are doing their best to address the issue on environmental degradation. They even make use of social media as a platform for their campaigns and advocacies in saving the environment. The common people, on the other hand, help to propagate environmental awareness through cooperative and individual efforts. bce ees serve your community. What are some environmental problems lat the residents should be concerned about? fake at least five pictures of these issues and paste them on sheets if bond paper. Then, discuss what a student like you can do to help iddress the said issues. PYM in tcete tet rerio ar-Maat ore) ay ed X-Men) Scanned with CamScannerSo advovates for humanity, think of disaster preparedness and environmental protection as one and the same, not as two protracted wars which societytin general must face. By preserving our environment, we not only save Nature, but we also save ourselves from the onslaught of natural disasters. The best protection we can give ourselves is through preparation. Disasters may be inevitable but a well-preserved environment will act as our first line of defense, Let the framework of disaster preparedness be drafted for the sake of environmental protection. ‘This tinte; the struggle for the protection of our environment must truly be ouriown Environmental Value Systems An environmental value system refers to how a person sees and values environmental concerns. It can be classified into three major categories: ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, and technocentrism. Ecocentrism This holistic world view is based-on the principle that the natural world has inherent value. Advocates of this view wish to lessen the impact of human influence to the environment by _feducing and lessening the consumption of natural resources. This particular value system is divided into two types: the land ethic and deep ecology. The advocates of /and ethic focus on human responsibility towards the natural world. They are said to be nature-centered and are putting so much premium on the rights of nature as compared to the rights of humanity. Land ethic was first advocated by Aldo Leopold in the late 1940s and implied the responsibility of human beings for natural communities. Deep ecology, on the other hand, is a newer concept in ecocentric. Philosophy. This value system intensively inquires about a person's set of values and lifestyles that cause serious environmental problems. Anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism is a philosophical perspective which puts human needs and interests to be of highest value and importance. FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY | 67 Scanned with CamScannerThis viewpoint is human-centered and believes that the natural world exists for him/her alone; hence, concern for nonhuman entities is limited to those having value to people. There are anthropocentric philosophers who “advocate the cornucopian point of view, which claims that environmental resources are unlimited and the rapid increase in human population does not lead to scarcity in natural resources. Cornucopian philosophers argue that the possibility of resource scarcity and population explosion is a mere exaggeration. They believe that future technology will be invented and developed to address such issues. Technocentrism With values centered on technology, this type of view believes that it can provide solutions to all environmental problems. Similar to anthropocentrism, it is a world view which conceives that the nature is present to benefit human beings. Technocentrism stresses that environmental problems can be solved through science and technology, and holds that technology is a key ingredient in improving the standard of living. Advocates of this view downplay the effects of environmental problems, such as global warming and illegal logging. They contend that scientific and technological expertise are the answers to the growing problems in the environment. ae ee Give the salient features of the following value systems in as far as? the natural environment is concerned. Ecocentrism Anthropocentrism| | Technocentrism Wier ean Mil Manller 21 AMMO SLO Scanned with CamScannerChallenges for Environmental Philosophy In this age of technological advancement and _ scientific » | discoveries, nature is put at the losing end, as ithas always been the one being compromised. As humans advance their desires & to raise their standards of living and improve the quality of their lifestyles, theirintervention in the natural courses of environment has become uncontrollable. They have put themselves at the center of the universe and regarded all other things as part of their properties. Their sel centered perspectives make fag them believe that they have the world at their disposal. It is this perspective of humans which serves as a challenge to environmental philosophy. Environmental philosophy reminds people that all natural beings have intrinsic value, regardless of their practical significance to humans—that they must pay respect to the environment, not because they benefit from it, but because it is the right thing to do. They must be reminded of the gloomy possibility that the environment and everything in it shall cease to exist if they do not change their attitude toward the environment. Environmental ethics is challenged to make people realize that the survival of the environment is also their own survival. The popular belief that one is a steward of the environment has given humans the chance to interpret it in such a way that would benefit the humankind. Because of this, people believe that they live outside of the environment and in no way that they are a part of it. This is another challenge of environmental philosophy—defining human's place in the environment. Unless people realize that they are PPA al cols et ea MCA 2) oA) COMME ME Ua GIRO Scanned with CamScanneran integral part of nature and must take care of it in order to survive, the environment will still be a large playing field for them where they can | do whatever they please without being mindful of the consequences of their actions. i People’s strong alliance with technology and glued partnership with science have fuelled their desires to alter the environment's natural state. In turn, they created trees made of cement, mountains of skyscrapers, and rivers of plastics and chemicals. Environmental philosophy is, therefore, tasked to align human perspectives with the efforts to preserve the natural environment. BUS EEC Cre MEPs eee e cc ccecnces, Read and analyze the message of the following text. (Taken from the Instagram post of @nhujmagbanua (https:/www.instagram. com/p/BDqGRGpAxdv)): ‘COMPROMISED’ - Over the years, man has wrought its wrath to nature in the most unintentional K of ways... his desire to alleviate himself and give himself nothing but the best that the term ‘comfort could offer made him nature’ worst nightmare... In a span of five decades, he was able to wrap and encapsulate all his dreams of Fy comfort and convenience—his cigar is wrapped with the finest label, his food is delivered instantly in a bucket made of styro, his favorite soda is canned, and everywhere he goes, he goes by the comfort of plastic... and when all of these are consumed, what are left are the wrappers that even the earth could not dissolve... Then man decided to leave them everywhere and anywhere and by the course of time, they are brought into the ocean... Here, they become the ‘destroyer’ that kills such a beautiful and serene sanctuary... at a time when man is at his peak of giving himself the best of comfort and convenience, something is COMPROMISED. FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY | 73 Scanned with CamScanner