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Ethics And the Environment






From mid 1980’s to mid 1990’s a series of documents and reports were published which make reference to the importance of a new ethics. Most explicitly perhaps the World Commission on Environment and Development express themselves in thier report (1987) Our Common Future: “ We have attempted to demonstrate how human survival and well-being may be dependent on our capacity to successfully transform the principles behind sustainable development into global ethics”.

You may have noticed that most arguments refer to human needs. Since human interests are in the centre of such an ethics it is called anthropocentric ethics. In fact all the ethics western civilisation grew up with is anthropocentric ethics. Respect gor fellow human beings is basic in established documents, such as the United Nations Declaration on human rights, and several others. This ethics may be expressed: as the rights of a group or an individual, as the duties of a gruop or an individual. If we consider that the rights or duties are equal among the groups or individuals we talk about equity between them. An ethics that is formulated in terms of rights, duties and equity is called an ethics of justice.

Justice between humans takes two forms. It is either justice between humans living here and now, so called intra-generational justice, or justice between us and future generations, so called inter-generational justice.

In fact tthere two large groups of environmentlists, often referred to as the conservationalists and the preservationists. The conservationists have as a goal fot their work to conserve the environment for consumption by present and future humans. The preservationists on the other hand rather see as their goal to protect the environment against the present and future exploitation by humans. The solution of the environmental problems according to them is not that we need to use natural resources more efficiently or more sustainably but rather that we have to respect nature an its integrity.

A strong biocentric ethics argues that man does not constitute a higher form of life than everything else alive. Instead humans are members of a global life community in the same sense as all other forms of life. From this follows a series of duties namely 1) not to hurt other living beings; 2) not to lomit or violate the freedom of other living beings; 3) not to misuse the trust of another being; 4) to make good for those who have been treated in a morally wrong way.

But one may adopt also weaker forms of bioethics. A special form is the so called weak biocentrism. This form holds that actions should be judged based on how they influence other living beings, but with preference for humans and other sentient beings.

Often human rights are considers higher rights than those of other species. However, there are those who hold that species as such or ecosystems as such are objects for moral considerations and need to be respected. This form of ethics is called ecocentric ethics. One way to define this ethics is “the view that in addition to all living beings, also species, ecosystems, rivers, mountains have a value of thier own and a re morrlly significant, that is may be treated in a way that is morally right or wrong, and man has moral obligations towards them”.

 

2. CHOOSE THE CORRECT PREPOSITION:

  1. Human survival and well-being may be dependent (on, of, from) our capacity to successfully transform the principles behind sustainable development into global ethics.
  2. There are two large groups of environmentalists often referred (in, to, after) as the conservationists and the preservationists.
  3. Humans have moral obligations (to, towards, for) living beings.
  4. A general acceptance of any form of ecocentrism would have a large influence (on, to, in) environmental policy.
  5. Basic ethics are often concerned (to, in, with) how we deal with our fellow human beings, but then we talk about those that are close to us now.

 

 

3. SAY HOW SURE YOU ARE OF THE FOLLOWING. USE AN APPROPRIATE MODAL VERB:

  1. We have such duties as: not to hurt other living beings, not to limit or violate their freedom.
  2. We are not allowed to exploit other species.
  3. Man has moral obligations towards other species, ecosystems, rivers and mountains.
  4. We are not permitted to hunt wild animals.
  5. It is necessary to treat all living beings in a morally right way.

 

 

4. MATCH THE WORDS WITH THEIR DEFINITIONS:

1. ethics;   2. conservationist;   3. preservationist; 4. intra-generational justice; 5. inter-generational justice. a. a person who advocates conservation esp. of natural resources; b. justice between humans living here and now; c. justice between us and future generations; d. one who advocates preservation; e. moral principles that govern a person’s or group’sbehavior.

 

 

5. MARK THE STATEMENTS AS TRUE (T) OR FALSE (F). CORRECT THE FALSE STATESMENTS:

  1. Since human interests are in the centre of an ethics it is called biocentric ethics.
  2. An ethics that is formulated in terms of rights, duties and equity is called an ethics of justice.
  3. Anthropocentrism holds that action should be judged based on how they influence other living beings, but with preference for humans and other sentient beings.
  4. Ethics of equity holds that species as such or ecosystems as such are objects for moral considerations and need to be respected.
  5. Biocentric ethics argues that man does not constitute a higher form of life than everything else alive.

 

6. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

 

  1. What is an envirionmental value?
  2. What are the most important forms of ethics regarding interrelation between humans and the environment?
  3. What forms of justice between humans do you know?
  4. Who or what is the source of major damage to the Earth?
  5. What is the idea of sustainable development?


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