Ethics, philosophy, and
history
Bio 415/615
Questions
1. What is the “tragedy of the commons”?
2. How do utilitarian and intrinsic value
ethical systems differ?
3. Why isn’t either ethical system ideal in
a conservation context?
4. What constitutes Aldo Leopold’s “Land
Ethic”?
Environmental Ethics
• Aldo Leopold (1949) – “A sand county almanac”
- Spurred the environmental movement
- the ‘land ethic’
• Rachel Carson (1962) – “Silent Spring”
– Sparked modern environmental movement
• Garrett Hardin's (1968) - "The Tragedy of
the Commons"
• 1970-80s explosion of thought in
environmental ethics
– 1972 first environmental philosophy conference
– Early 1980s first journal Environmental Ethics
Why conserve?
• This course is about biology. BUT…
• We use biological knowledge to make
decisions based on our value system.
• Our personal choices reflect what we
value about biodiversity and nature.
• Our ethics also affect what we decide
is scientifically interesting.
Devising a system of values
(= environmental ethics)
Goal of ethics: create a consistent basis for
distinguishing good from bad (or better from
worse)
There is no such thing as a ‘universal ethic’. We
will not necessarily agree on our rationale for
conservation.
“Appeal to Nature” or “Naturalistic fallacy” =
something is good because it exists in nature
(suffering, extinction, etc.)
2 broad ethical systems
• Utilitarianism (Anthropocentric Ethics)
– Human-centered value
• Intrinsic value (Biocentric or Naturecentered Ethics)
– Species (or ecosystems) have rights in
their own right
Utilitarian Value
• Goods: Fish, game, foods, spices, oils,
fragrances, wood, medicine
• Ecosystem services: air quality, flood
control, soil conservation,
decomposition, detoxification,
pollination, dispersal, pest control
• Information: genetic library, chemical
cues
• Spiritual happiness/satisfaction
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
British philosopher (1806-1873)
Utilitarian value is
not just personal,
but has a social
basis.
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
British philosopher (1806-1873)
[Jeremy Bentham]:
“greatest good for
the greatest
number”
= hedonistic
consequentialism
•
•
•
•
Anthropocentric Ethics
Greatest good for the greatest number
Instrumental value (a thing is ‘an instrument for’)
Consequentialism
The utilitarian calculus
–
–
–
–
Pros and cons
Costs and benefits
Pluses and minuses
Hedons and dolors (add to, take away from pleasure)
• Hedonistic utilitarianism
– Good, pleasure (avoidance of suffering), have intrinsic
value, all else is instrumental value
• Preference utilitarianism (ranking)
• Monetary Value: valuation, common currency?
Utilitarianism can be a powerful
rationale for conservation
• DDT and Silent Spring
• Lead in gasoline
• Ozone layer, Montreal protocol
Bioprospecting
•
•
•
•
•
Thermus aquaticus
Hot Springs, Yellowstone NP
Archaea
Near boiling point of water
Enzymes that work at high
temperatures
• TAQ Polymerase (replaced E.
coli DNA polymerase)
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR)
• Billions!
Nature 1997
• What is the value of something
irreplaceable?
• If there are substitutes, depends on
supply and demand
• ‘marginal’ (small change) value: eg, what
would you pay for one beach, or 50 tons
of topsoil, …)
• Various services calculated per area,
then extrapolated to globe
Nature 1997
• $33 trillion per year. What does this
mean?
• If ecosystems vanish, but their services
can be replaced by other means, it
would cost about 2x global GNP
• Translation: impossible!
The problems of utilitarianism
The problems of utilitarianism
1. Substitutability: How can we put value
on things that can’t be replaced? (what
about species extinctions?)
The problems of utilitarianism
1. Substitutability: How can we put value
on things that can’t be replaced? (what
about species extinctions?)
2. Rarity: Can you estimate value for a
service for one time and place and
then extrapolate it elsewhere? What
happens as it gets more rare?
The problems of utilitarianism
1. Substitutability: How can we put value
on things that can’t be replaced?
2. Rarity: Can you estimate value for a
service for one time and place and
then extrapolate it elsewhere? What
happens as it gets more rare?
3. How do we calculate the value of
‘happiness’, ‘contentment’, etc?
The problems of utilitarianism
4. How do we find a common currency for
different qualities? (good night’s sleep
for good meal?)
The problems of utilitarianism
4. How do we find a common currency for
different qualities? (good night’s sleep
for good meal?)
5. Human engineering: plastic trees? (is
this ok? Restoration, gardening, …)
The problems of utilitarianism
4. How do we find a common currency for
different qualities? (good night’s sleep
for good meal?)
5. Human engineering: plastic trees? (is
this ok? Restoration, gardening, …)
6. Scale: local value may be assessed
differently than regional or global
value, and processes have different
functions at different scales
The problems of utilitarianism
4. How do we find a common currency for
different qualities? (good night’s sleep
for good meal?)
5. Human engineering: plastic trees? (is
this ok? Restoration, gardening, …)
6. Scale: local value may be assessed
differently than regional or global
value, and processes have different
functions at different scales
7. Value changes: consider value of natural
medicines once product becomes
synthesized
The problems of utilitarianism
8. Everything is relative: consider
ecotourism vs. oil drilling on a nature
preserve. What would influence the
decision to drill or tour?
The problems of utilitarianism
8. Everything is relative: consider
ecotourism vs. oil drilling on a nature
preserve. What would influence the
decision to drill or tour?
9. Negative value: species harmful to
humans? (invaders? predators?)
The problems of utilitarianism
8. Everything is relative: consider
ecotourism vs. oil drilling on a nature
preserve. What would influence the
decision to drill or tour?
9. Negative value: species harmful to
humans? (invaders? predators?)
10. Species that don’t contribute: no
rationale for conserving nonfunctional
species?
The problems of utilitarianism
8. Everything is relative: consider
ecotourism vs. oil drilling on a nature
preserve. What would influence the
decision to drill or tour?
9. Negative value: species harmful to
humans? (invaders? predators?)
10. Species that don’t contribute: no
rationale for conserving nonfunctional
species?
11. Unknowns: do we actually know the
value of most species or ecosystems?
The problems of utilitarianism
12. Human experience: we all rate ‘nature’
differently. If you live in a city, what
value do you assign the night sky?
The problems of utilitarianism
12. Human experience: we all rate ‘nature’
differently. If you live in a city, what
value do you assign the night sky?
Others???? Hardin?
Intrinsic value
Biocentric or Nature-centered Ethics
• Species intrinsic values and species
rights…US Endangered Species Act
• Animal rights, the value of the sentient
being
• Ecosystem, holistic value
– Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac (?)
Intrinsic value
Biocentric or Nature-centered Ethics
•
•
•
•
Deontological or rule-based ethics
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
Non-consequentialism
Absolute, not subject to measurement,
nor varying by result or outcome,
intrinsic and not as an instrument to
benefit of anything external
The Ecological-Evolutionary Land
Ethic and Ethical Holism
Aldo Leopold 1887-1948
1949
Leopold’s Ethical Sequence
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Self
Kin (Family)
Social Group (City, Town)
Nation (Religion)
All People
All Sentient Species (Animal Rights)
All Species
Land-Ecosystem
Gifford Pinchot
Resource
Conservation
Ethic
John Muir
Preservation
Ethic
Gifford Pinchot
Resource
Conservation
Ethic
Scientific forestry
(late 1800s)
• Sustained yield
without harming
productive capacity
• Avoidance of waste
• Best use for human
benefit
John Muir
Intrinsic value of
wilderness
• Spiritual value
• Sierra Club
• But utilitarian?
Preservation
Ethic
The Hetch Hetchy Dam—1913
(Congress passed Raker Act)
The Hetch Hetchy Dam—1913
Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well
dam for water-tanks the
people's cathedrals and
churches, for no holier
temple has ever been
consecrated by the heart
of man. (Muir)
The great irony is that the valley’s demise was the work of the City of San
Francisco, which now is home to many environmentalists who would lay
their bodies down in protest if anyone tried to build such a thing today. But
San Francisco is hooked: how do you tear down a dam and remove a
reservoir that helps deliver 85 percent of a city’s water?
NY Times, April 10, 2010
“Within five years, native grasses and wildlife would
begin to reappear as the Tuolumne River reclaimed its
original channel. Willows and alders would quickly
return to its banks and, soon after, Ponderosa pines
and oak woodlands would begin to take root. As
habitat restored itself, large numbers of animals
would migrate home and the twin of Yosemite Valley
would re-emerge in the light of the 21st century.”
www.hetchhetchy.org
Problems of Intrinsic Value
1. Species are transitory
– Species evolve, and most species that ever
existed are extinct.
Problems of Intrinsic Value
1. Species are transitory
– Species evolve, and most species that ever
existed are extinct.
2. Species are antagonistic
– How do we decide who to favor in the
confrontation of competitors, predators
and prey, hosts and parasites, etc?
Problems of Intrinsic Value
1. Species are transitory
– Species evolve, and most species that ever
existed are extinct.
2. Species are antagonistic
– How do we decide who to favor in the
confrontation of competitors, predators
and prey, hosts and parasites, etc?
3. Ecosystems vary through time
– Which state is the ‘correct’ one?
– Focus on the process, not the state?
What’s the answer?
• Sustainability, capacity to adapt
(continue to change) are modern themes
• Biodiversity at least gives capacity for
future adaptation (Leopold: “save every
cog and wheel”)
• Ethical questions, like scientific ones,
are sensitive to scale
• Where do you stand?