Philosophy Environmental Ethics What are morals and values

Philosophy & Environmental Ethics • What are morals and values? – morals - right vs wrong – values - ultimate worth of actions or things

Ethical status • moral agents – can act morally and immorally – responsible for actions • moral subjects – have moral interests - can be treated rightly or wrongly – not responsible for actions • Which is nature? – – agent subject resilient background delicate system

Value • intrinsic/inherent - because it exists • instrumental - because it has a use • humans vs living things vs physical things

Ethical viewpoints • Universalist – – – fundamental principles unchanging eternal universal modernists: develop universal laws through science • Relativist – vary by person, society, situation – right and wrong must have a context – postmodernist: all viewpoints are equal • Utilitarian – action is right that produces • the greatest good • for the greatest number of people • for the longest time (added by early environmentalists) – can justify terrible actions – difficult to weigh options • Nihilist – – everything is arbitrary no right or wrong power, strength, survival uncertainty, pain, despair

Environmental worldviews • domination – humans may do as they want – anthropocentric • stewardship – responsible caretakers – somewhat anthropocentric • ecocentric – ecological processes are the most important • animal rights – each individual has inherent value • biocentric – biodiversity has the highest values – species and populations have inherent value • ecofeminism – everything is interconnected – nothing occupies the high ground – focus on relationship, kinship, and reciprocity – for the good of all – relativistic awareness