ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICAL THEORIES TABLE
ETHICAL
THEORY
OR
PERSPECTIVE
Anthropocentric
Ethics
ASSOCIATED
TIME PERIOD /
INDIVIDUAL(S)
Only human beings have
moral value, no direct
responsibilities to the natural
world
Scientific testing on
animals, slash and
burn farming, factory
farming, etc.
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)
All life as possessing intrinsic
value
humanity is no more
valuable than say,
mice
Aristotle, 6 Century
B.C.E. to Present
The idea that all the
properties of a given
system
(biological,
chemical,
social,
mental,
linguistic,
etc)
cannot
be
determined
or
explained by the sum
of its component parts
alone.
Instead,
the
system
as
a
whole
determines
in
an
important way how the
parts behave.
Recognizes
that
the
Ecosphere,
rather
than
organisms, is the source of
life,
of
creativity,
of
evolutionary design, and of all
meaning
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.
Emphasis to be placed on the
intrinsic
value
of
other
species,
systems
and
processes in nature
Ecocentric
Ethics
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)
The Land Ethic
Deep Ecology
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SAMPLE
APPLICATION
6 Century B.C.E. to
Present Socrates,
Aristotle, Augustine,
Aquinas
Biocentric Ethics
Holism
MAJOR TENETS
Norwegian
philosopher
Arne Næss in 1972
the right of all forms
[of life] to live is a
universal right which
cannot be quantified.
No single species of
living being has
more of this
particular right to live
and unfold than any
other species."
SCI362r3
Social Ecology
Ecofeminism
Murray
Bookchin
1950s and, from the
1960s
Nearly
all
our
present
ecological problems arise from
deep-seated social problems.
The
early
radical
feminism of the late
1960s and early 1970s
A
social
and
political
movement which believes that
a relationship exists between
the oppression of women and
the degradation of nature
male ownership of
land has led to a
dominator culture,
manifesting itself in
food export, overgrazing, the tragedy
of the commons and
a land ethic that
amounts to land
abuse.
Environmental
Pragmatism
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SCI362r3