Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice"

Mervyn Dean
5 years ago
Views:

1 Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice Marion Hourdequin Companion Website Material Chapter 1 Companion website by Julia Liao and Marion Hourdequin

2 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE Chapter Outline Chapter 1. Bringing values to light Introduction The ubiquity of values Values in science Values in economics For further thought Values and worldviews Mechanism and the Scientific Revolution Enlightenment individualism Darwin and the theory of evolution by natural selection Ecology, interconnection, and the balance of nature For further thought Ethics, metaethics, and moral progress Subjectivism, relativism, and universalist realism about morality Reflective equilibrium Ethics and the connected critic For further thought Conclusion Further reading Key points Introduction Environmental ethics seeks to critically examine and reflect on human actions, in the belief that by doing so humans can better live as responsible members of the social and natural world. More specifically, environmental ethics focuses on values and how they guide our relationship with the natural world. Although we may not always recognize them as such, values are ubiquitous in science, economics, and policy, and affect our understanding of and approaches to environmental problems. Philosophy is important in addressing environmental problems because it can help bring values to light, where they can be better discussed and evaluated.

3 COMPANION WEBSITE MATERIAL CHAPTER 1 The ubiquity of values In science, paradigms are frameworks that define the methods, tools, and background assumptions used in the formulation and investigation of scientific questions. Values inevitably guide scientific paradigms. One particularly relevant example is the use of value judgments to decide how much scientific evidence is needed to trigger action to protect endangered species. Values also influence economics. One particularly relevant example is in environmental cost benefit analysis. Cost benefit analysis relies on a number of value-laden assumptions, such as: (a) all costs and benefits can be adequately measured in a single currency (typically, money); (b) it makes sense to aggregate all costs and benefits into a single number on which decisions will be based; and (c) the action or policy that produces the greatest net benefit is the best action to pursue. Values and worldviews Values are embedded not only in particular disciplines and practices, but also in broader worldviews. These worldviews embody values that influence how people think and act toward the environment. Historically, worldviews have changed in association with new developments in philosophy, religion, science, and social organization. In the seventeenth century, in association with the Scientific Revolution, the dominant Western worldview shifted from organic (Earth as a living being) to mechanistic (Earth as a machine). According to historian Carolyn Merchant, this facilitated increased exploitation of the natural world. During the Enlightenment, humans came to be seen as rational, autonomous individuals with the right to pursue their own desires and goals. The idea of the rational, self-interested individual plays a key role in modeling contemporary collective action problems such as the tragedy of the commons.

4 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. This theory had significant implications for understanding humans place in the natural world. Darwin s theory at times has been used to stress the idea of life as a competitive struggle for existence. However, by positing a single tree of life, Darwin s views undermined previous ideas of human exceptionalism and established the fundamental kinship between humans and other living things. Ecology recognizes different levels of organization in the natural world and emphasizes the complex interdependence among living things. By developing categories such as that of the ecosystem, which refer not just to individuals but also to ecological wholes, ecology introduces the possibility that these wholes may be worthy of moral consideration. Throughout much of the twentieth century, ecology supported the idea that there exists a balance of nature that human activities tend to disrupt. This idea was complicated by the recognition that disturbance is an important element of ecological systems, and that these systems typically have multiple equilibria rather than a single balanced state. Ethics, metaethics and moral progress Metaethics is the area of ethics concerned with the nature and foundations of value, and the meaning of moral terms. Environmental ethics raises many metaethical questions, and the way we think about disagreements in environmental ethics will reflect metaethical views about whether there exists a single true moral system, whether morality is culturally relative, or whether morality is individually subjective. Moral subjectivists believe that right and wrong are determined by each individual s personal moral beliefs. Moral relativists believe that right and wrong are determined by the prevailing moral beliefs of social groups like societies or cultures. Universal moral realists believe that there is a single true morality, a set of moral principles or values that apply to all.

5 COMPANION WEBSITE MATERIAL CHAPTER 1 The possibility of moral progress depends on the idea that our current moral beliefs may be mistaken. One strategy for investigating and improving our moral beliefs is the method of reflective equilibrium. This approach uses reflection to identify conflicts within one s moral principles, broader worldviews, and intuitions about specific cases, and to make adjustments that bring conflicting beliefs into alignment. At the community level, the model of the connected critic suggests a similar process, where the critic draws others into reflection and reevaluation of community values. Conclusion The discussion of social criticism, reflective equilibrium, and moral progress are important to environmental ethics, and to this book, which focuses not only on theory, but also on practice. Thus, we will examine beliefs, practices, and their interrelationships, and the changes needed in order to generate a more robust environmental ethic. Questions for thought and discussion 1 Why are values required in order to set standards of proof in science? Why are standards of proof particularly important to environmental ethics? 2 What are the strengths and limitations of (a) an individualist worldview and (b) a collectivist worldview? Do we tend to assume that one is better than the other? Why do you think that is? 3 What philosophical implications might one take from the evolutionary biology worldview that human beings, animals, and other living things are part of a single tree of life? What is the relevance of evolutionary biology for environmental ethics? 4 How might the shift from a balance of nature paradigm to a focus on disturbance and multiple equilibria in ecology affect our thinking about environmental ethics?

6 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 5 In your personal life and your local community, where do you see gaps between ethical beliefs and practices? How could these gaps be bridged? Key terms Anthropocentric Biocentric Constitutive values Contextual values Deductive argument Ecology Epistemology Human exceptionalism Liberalism Metaethics Moral relativism Moral subjectivism Normative ethics Null hypothesis Paradigm Premise/conclusion Reductionism Reflective equilibrium Sound (in relation to deductive arguments) Tragedy of the commons Universalist moral realism Valid (in relation to deductive arguments)

7 COMPANION WEBSITE MATERIAL CHAPTER 1 Online resources International Society for Environmental Ethics: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on environmental ethics: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on reflective equilibrium: The Nature Education Knowledge Project webpage on environmental ethics: environmental-ethics

Deep Ecology A New Paradigm 19 September 2012 Page 1 of 6

Deep Ecology A New Paradigm 19 September 2012 Page 1 of 6 Deep Ecology - A New Paradigm This book is about a new scientific understanding of life at all levels of living systems - organisms, social systems, and ecosystems. It is based on a new perception of reality