Caring for the

Environment
Lessons-Causes of Environmental Damages
Respect for Nature
The Role of Business
Causes of Environmental Damages
What are the causes of
environmental damages?
1. Natural causes
2. Human-induced
3. Legal causes
4. Socio-economic causes
5. Attitudinal causes
Causes of Environmental Damages
Natural causes- is brought about solely
by the processes of nature. This means
that they happen independently of any
human intervention or regardless of
any human intervention or regardless
of any human action. It may include
earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis,
volcanic eruptions, dry seasons and
pests
Causes of Environmental Damages
Human-induced- is brought about by
human intervention in the processes of
nature. It may include among others,
pollution, global warming, depletion of
natural resources, emission of toxic
substances in the atmosphere,
dumping of non-biodegradable waste
materials into the oceans and rivers,
and oil spills
Causes of Environmental Damages
Legal causes- include existing laws of the land
that have something to do with the
environment. They also include absence of laws
that would effectively prohibit practices
damaging to the environment, and of legal
mechanisms that would effectively punish those
violating existing environmental laws, especially
those occupying positions of power such as
public officials and private corporations. It
generally refer to those causes of the crisis that
are within the control of the government
Causes of Environmental Damages
Socio-economic causes- are factors that are
brought about by social arrangements and the
economic status of human persons. Such causes
include over-population, which naturally results
in the competition over limited resources,
which in turn contributes to the depletion of
these resources. They also include poverty for
because poor people most often prefer cheap
but not environmentally friendly products and
practices over expensive but environment-
friendly products and practices
Causes of Environmental Damages
Attitudinal causes- refer to the beliefs and
values held by humans about nature that allow
them to make it permissible for them to cause
damages to the natural environment
Ex. That natural resources are there simply for
human consumption or to satisfy human
interests; that only human can be recipients of
moral duties; that natural resources are
inexhaustible or unlimited
 Respect for Nature
The role of philosophy in the prevention of
environmental damages is the critical examination of
the beliefs that lead humans to inflict damages to the
environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS- provides justification for
the human obligation to protect the natural
environment, then showing that humans do have
such an obligation proves that those beliefs are wrong
BUSINESS ETHICS- shows that the beliefs behind the
attitude that business institutions should not be
concerned with ethics and thus should not care for
natural environment are mistaken
 Respect for Nature
Environmental Ethics
1. HOMOCENTRISM- anthropocentric view which claims that the
moral duty of humans to protect the natural environment
derives from the moral duty to respect the rights of their fellow
humans
2. UTILITARIANISM- this view holds that only sentient entities or
organisms with the capacity for experiencing pleasure and pain,
which include humans and animals, can be said to be endowed
with moral rights. So on this view, humans have the moral
obligation to protect the natural environment in order to respect
the moral right of their fellow humans and animals to a liveable
natural environment
3. BIOCENTRISM- this view holds that every member of an
ecological system has the moral right to a sustainable ecological
system. Humans, in this regard ought to protect the natural
environment, which consist of various ecological systems
 Respect for Nature
Business Ethics
1. Business acts can be done knowingly and freely, which make their
agents/doers morally responsible for these acts
2. Business acts can lead to serious human injuries and
environmental damages, which subjects and environmental
damages, which subjects such acts to a consequentialist type of
moral evaluation that acts are good or bad depending on their
consequences
3. Business acts can respect or violate the moral rights of human
persons, which subject such acts subject to deontological type of
moral evaluation that acts are good or bad depending on the kind of
rules that they follow or violate
4 Business acts can result in an unfair distribution of benefits and
burdens, which subjects such acts to a moral evaluation concerning
justice that acts are just or unjust depending on whether people are
given what they deserve
 Respect for Nature
Ant-Ethics Arguments for Business
1. INVINSIBLE-HAND ARGUMENT- is based on the theory
of Adam Smith which states that people freely pursuing
their individual selfish interests in the market will
eventually bring about the common good (or what is
good for everyone)
2. LEGAL ARGUMENT- assets that there is no need for
ethical principles to guide business behaviors because
the laws of the government are sufficient to do this job
3. GAME ARGUMENT- it claims that the business activity,
like the activity of playing games, is amoral or has no
moral importance.