# Environmental Ethics



## Ruthanne (Aug 25, 2020)

*Human Environmental Responsibility*
In the second half of the 20th century, people around the world began to notice devastating changes in the environment. The air around cities was filthy, species were dying out in record numbers, and even the rain was contaminated with acid. A number of writers, philosophers, and academics began asking questions about the human responsibility to the environment and the other species living on the planet. Of the variety of perspectives that formed the new field of environmental ethics, ecocentrism developed as the most distant from the previous perspective of putting humans above all else.

*Environmental Ethics*
To best explain ecocentrism, we need to first understand a little about the field of *environmental ethics*. This is an area of philosophy that explores the relationship between humans and the environment from a moral and ethical perspective, attempting to define our responsibilities and determine right actions.

There are many diverse perspectives within environmental ethics, but their main difference lies in how they place value on nature or aspects of nature. There are two types of value that play vital parts in this discussion. First, we have *instrumental value* that describes the value of something in how it can be used or useful, usually in relation to human wants or needs. The second is *intrinsic value*, which is the value something has for its own sake, regardless of whether it's useful to humans or not. So with that in mind, let's now turn to ecocentrism.

*Ecocentrism*
The perspective of *ecocentrism* focuses on the interests of all species and natural features of Earth's ecosystems, refusing to place any aspect or species above the others. Much of the supporting information for this ethic comes from ecological sciences and their study of interspecies relationships, natural processes, and the interrelationships between natural features and biological organisms.

Ecocentrists focus on the intrinsic value of all these entities in their own right while acknowledging their instrumental value to one another as part of the natural process. The term itself preferences the ecosystem as the most important unit or source of value. This stands in stark opposition to *anthropocentric* views that place human wants and needs as more valuable and important than all other natural entities.

*Origins of Ecocentrism*
Aldo Leopold is often credited as the earliest ecocentrist, based on his writings in the late 1940s. His book, _A Sand County Almanac,_ is still highly cited in the field today. In this book, he introduced the concept of *land ethic*. By ''land,'' Leopold refers to the entire ecological community of a place or of natural settings in general.

His two most cited statements in support of a land ethic are as follows:
''That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.''
and
''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.''

While Leopold's work inspired many ethical theorists to come, he did not develop an ethical theory based on his work. This came from the work of later theorists, like J. Baird Callicott, who build on the original concepts of land ethic.

In Callicott's interpretation, neither intrinsic value nor instrumental value actually existed outside the realm of human thought. However, it was the ethical responsibility of humans to preference the intrinsic value of nature over the instrumental value they saw. While this places humans at the source of Callicott's ecocentrism, it doesn't prioritize humans and their interests, thus avoiding anthropocentrism.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 29, 2020)

*Why ecocentrism is an essential solution*
We believe that ecocentrism, through its recognition of humanity’s duties towards nature, is central to solving our unprecedented environmental crisis. Its importance is for multiple reasons:

*In ethical terms*: ecocentrism expands the moral community (and ethics) from being just about ourselves. It means we are not concerned _only_ with humanity; we extend respect and care to all life, and indeed to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems themselves.

*In evolutionary terms*: ecocentrism reflects the fact _Homo sapiens_ evolved out of the rich web of life on Earth – a legacy stretching back an almost unimaginable 3.5 billion years. Other species literally are our cousins and relatives (close and distant), recognition of a _biological kinship_ that many have recognized confers moral responsibilities toward all species.

*In spiritual terms*: Many people and some societies have developed ecocentric moral sentiments. There is increasing evidence that ecocentric values are being fused into nature-based, ecocentric spiritualities, many of which are innovative and new. With such spiritualities, even people who are entirely naturalistic in their worldviews, often speak of the Earth and its ecosystems as ‘sacred’ and thus worthy of reverent care and defense.

*In ecological terms*: ecocentrism reminds us that all life is interdependent and that _both_ humans and nonhumans are absolutely dependent on the ecosystem processes that nature provides. An anthropocentric conservation ethic alone is wholly inadequate for conserving biodiversity. Ecocentrism is rooted in an evolutionary understanding that reminds us that we are latecomers to what Leopold evocatively called “the odyssey of evolution”. This logically leads both to empathy for our fellow inhabitants; and also to _humility_, because in this process we are no different from other species. And ecology teaches humility in another way, as we do not know everything about the world’s ecosystems, and never will.

Western scientific thought corroborates an ecocentric worldview through an understanding of eco-evolutionary processes, hence the science of ecocentricity corresponds closely to belief systems of those indigenous peoples (and others) who have in various ways come to see themselves as part of a sacred world. We conclude that an ecocentric worldview follows naturally from our evolution-derived, empathetic and aesthetic capacities, which when combined with our rational abilities, have enabled us over time to increasingly understand the way we (and the rest of the living world) came to be. And this has enabled us to see that indeed, we are part of nature, embedded in a beautiful and wondrous living world. Surely, if anything is worthy of respect, even reverence, it is _life itself_ on our own home planet. We maintain that a transformation toward an ecocentric worldview, and corresponding value systems, is a necessary path toward the flourishing of life on Earth, including that of our own species.


More information about ecocentrism can be found in our recently published article in _The Ecological Citizen, Issue I 2017_


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## Autumn (Aug 29, 2020)

Thanks for posting this.  I printed it out for my neighbor's  young daughter, who is doing a project on environmental issues for school.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 29, 2020)

Autumn said:


> Thanks for posting this.  I printed it out for my neighbor's  young daughter, who is doing a project on environmental issues for school.


That's good as there's some very good information there.


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