Module 6: Lesson 1

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
 The rise of Environmental Ethics may be
traced back to the 1950’ and 1960’s, a time
when humanity palpably faced nuclear
annihilation during the Cold War era.
Environmental Ethics

It is part of what is traditionally called

environmental philosophy. It considers
planet as community and its ethical
application includes the inanimate or non-
human entities of the community.
 Categories of Environmental Ethics

 Libertarian Extension
 Ecologic Extension
 Conservation Ethics
Libertarian Extension

It is generally a part of civil liberty. It

commits to include all members of the
community an equal rights from each other.
Ecologic Extension

It generally refers to the way or means in

which plants, animals, and people are related
to each other and to their environment.
Conservation Ethics

It generally refers to the conservation of

humankind and the environment to which they
belong.
Deep Ecology

It refers to the intrinsic value of the

members of global community including those
non-humans.
Humanist Theories

This sets the criteria for moral status and

ethical worth. This adheres to the ecologic
extensions that every member of a global has
worth and has a moral value.
Applied Theology

We are told; everything in the universe is

a creation of God. In the ladder of God’s
creation man is on top of it. Utilizing the
environment for the needs of man makes
man accountable to God for what they did
to their environment.
Anthropocentrism

Human is the center of the universe.

Under the Anthropocentrism all the other
entities in the global community come to be
for the existence of man.
 Current Environmental Problems

 Pesticide
 Global Warming
 Acid Rain
 Water Pollution
 Chemical Spills
 Eutrophication
Pesticide

When you spray your room for

mosquitoes and bedbugs you contribute
enough to the destruction of the ozone layer.
The same contribution is given by the farmer
after he sprayed his field with herbicide or
insecticide.
Global Warming

It refers to the sudden increase in world

temperature caused by increased amount of
carbon dioxide around the earth.
Acid Rain

It is a harmful acid contaminated rain

causing damage to the environment; so it is
called acid rain. It is usually caused by
chemicals from cars or factories carried by
air into the sky.
Water Pollution

When these words come to view, the

picture forms in our minds are rivers,
streams, lakes and seas flooded with throw-
away materials, particularly plastics. These
are wastes seen by a naked eye; they too kill
aquatic life.
Eutrophication

It is a result of intensive farming, a heavy

application of fertilizers with phosphate and
nitrogen. Water streams down into the rives
and in the rivers growth of algae
accelerates consuming the oxygen until all
other lives are choked to death.
Chemical Spills

One of the most frightening effects of

chemical spills and toxic dumping is health
of the people. They cause birth defects,
cancer, poisoning, and worst death.
 Various Approaches to Environmental
Ethics

 Ethical Treatment of Animals

 Biocentrism
 Land Ethics
 Sustainable Development
Ethical Treatment of Animals

Peter Singer and Tom Reagan

advocates equal treatment for all
sentient beings, from animals to
human beings.
 According to them, if one want to be
ethical in one’s treatment of animals, one
must continually come up with ways of
lessening their suffering or view them as
beings that have inherent value.
Biocentrism

Paul Taylor extends moral consideration

from the sphere of sentience and puts
forward an argument for the moral
protection of all beings that may be
considered as teleological centers of life.
 For Taylor, a biocentric outlook protects
the rights of all living organism including
plants and microorganism, to seek out their
good and well-being.
 As a teleological centers of life, an
organisms exists for the sake of furthering
its existence by undergoing changes and
processes that improve its well-being.
Land Ethics

Aldo Leopold holds that

a thing is right when it
tends to preserve the
integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic
community. It is wrong
when it tends otherwise.
 According to this view, the land itself, or
what Leopold calls the biotic community, is
considered as the locus of intrinsic value.