Environmental Ethics

Environment refers to the combination of external or extrinsic

physical conditions affecting and influencing the growth and
development of the living organisms including the human race

Global warming: (GHG-N2O, CFC, CO2, Methane)

due to carbon dioxide emission & Methane
(US emit 20 tonnes of CO2 per capita,
Europe 10 tonnes, China 4-5 tonnes,
India 1-2 tonnes, Ozone depletion,
Air pollution, Water pollution,
Sound pollution, Land pollution,
Acid rain(SO2+NO+water vapour),
Nuclear waste, solid waste, deforestation
Ecological imbalance, E waste
Environment protection is a global issue
William Blackstone-environment Protection is a state responsibility
India is losing10% of its annual GDP due to environmental damage
and degradation of natural resources

The Earth
We have not inherited
the Earth from our fathers.
We are borrowing it from
our children."
Native American saying
"

Is Nature Fragile or Resilient*?

Nature seen as powerful in past

Nature seen as a delicate balance as

technology increases our ability to
disrupt

Science as a Way of Knowing

A Faustian Bargain?

Technology can create

power to save and destroy
life
Dr. Faustus sold his soul to
the devil in exchange for
power and wealth.
On a deeper level, this
shows the decay of a
person who chooses
material gains over spiritual
belief and in doing so,
loses his/her soul.

Current Environmental Conditions

Half the worlds wetlands were lost in the

last 100 years.
Land conversion and logging have shrunk
the worlds forests by as much as 50%.
Nearly three-quarters of the worlds major
marine fish stocks are overfished or are
being harvested beyond a sustainable rate.
Soil degradation has affected two-thirds of
the worlds agricultural lands in the last 50
years.
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Major Causes of Environmental Degradation

Population Growth

More than 6 billion people now occupy

the Earth, adding about 85 million more
each year.
In the next decade, most population
growth will be in the poorer countries countries where present populations
already strain resources and services.
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Human Dimensions of Environmental Degradation

More than 1.3 billion people live in acute

poverty, with an income of less than $1 per
day. These people generally lack access to an
adequate diet, decent housing, basic
sanitation, clean water, education, medical
care, and other essentials.
Four out of five people in the world live in what
would be considered poverty in the U.S. or
Canada.
The worlds poorest people are often forced to
meet short-term survival needs at the cost of
long-term sustainability.
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Resource Extraction and Use

Burning of fossil fuels

Destruction of tropical
rainforests and other
biologically rich
landscapes
Production of toxic wastes
If the air that we breath is
polluted, the water that we
drink is contaminated and
the earth that grows food
has toxins, then
something must be terribly
wrong with the way we
work, produce food and
live,
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Environmentally related ethical questions

What is the extent of environmental

damage produced by the present and
projected technology?
How large is the threat from potential
damages posed to our welfare?
Whose rights are violated by creating or
promoting pollution?
Who should be responsible for paying
the cost of pollution?
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Environmentally related ethical questions

What values and importance must be
given or attached to halt or slow down
environmental damage?
What obligations do the industry and
business have to the future generations
in terms of preserving the environment
and conserving scarce natural
resources?
How long will the natural resources last
and what could be possible alternatives?
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Environmental ethics

In an industrialized world, mans life

revolves around what the firms produce
and supply in the market. What theses
firms do has a great impact on the
environment
The production of goods for the
consumption and for the leisure activities of
man involves processing of raw materials
that generates waste in solid, liquid and
gaseous forms and is let off in the
atmosphere to the detriment of the
environment

Environmental ethics

Maintenance of machinery, packaging and

transport puts great pressure on the
environment
Consumption of fossil fuels add to air
pollution and real estate development adds to
noise pollution
Modernized, complex and complicated urban
lifestyle has exploited far too many resources
and mindlessly wasted them. we cannot
sustain them. The resources are failing
Water is depleting, garbage is mounting
Pollution is taking toll on health of people

Management Ethics and the Environment

Objective of environmental
ethics is to safeguard
ourselves
Anthropocentric Approaches
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Stakeholder
Normative
Social Contract
Green Management
Ecocentricism
Adjusted Stakeholder
Sustainability
Resource Based
Approach
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Environmental ethics extends to:

Human beings; pollution diminishes our health,

resource depletion threatens our standard of
living, climatic changes put our homes at risk,
reduction in biodiversity results in the loss of
potential medicines
Animals they are live-our obligation to protect
them
Living organisms: compassion must be shown
to all living organisms
Holistic entities: land ethics-stop exploiting land
Ecosophy(ecological philosophy) aims at
raising the human consciousness to ecological
values
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Environmental ethics extends to:

Social ecology: there is no dominance

of species within the ecosystem. The
relationship is mutual-abandon
hierarchy and promote mutual
interdependence
Eco-feminism; the distinction between
man and nature should be obliteratedno exploitation of environment

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Environmental Ethics and Business

Western Society - Objectifies Nature

Locke - Something in a state of
nature has no economic value and is
of no utility to the human race

Ethics - a concern with actions and

practices directed to improving the
wellbeing of people.
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Economic Fundamentalism and Ethics

The corporate social responsibility of a
business is to increase profit. M.
Friedman

Those things that cannot be traded on

the market have no value.
Where does the environment fit in these
definitions for environmental ethics?
Will people and corporations do
environmentally responsible things on
their own? What happens if they do?
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Corporate Social Responsibility

By doing socially responsible things,

businesses better human life.
Hopefully ..good ethics is good
business.
Is this true?
Is enlightened self interest a good way?
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Incorporating Environmental Ethics

into Management

Environmental Ethics is a starting point

Expanding ethics to include nature.
Natural objects have intrinsic value
and morally
relevant in their own right.
Deep Ecology: nature has an ethical
status
at least equal to humans.
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Green Management

Eco centricism views industrial relationships

in a cycle, and a whole set of philosophies.
Closed technological cycles, zero emissions to
the environment. How radical is this?

Sustain centric - going beyond sustainability

of development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs.
Human and economic relationships
inextricably linked with natural systems.
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Sustainable development as corporate strategy

Customers want pollution- free

environment- industry should use clean
technologies, clean energy from
sources such as sun, wind and
hydrogen instead of coal and oil
Resource management through
recycling. Steve Morris close the loop
co. producing environmentally friendly
cartridges by reusing empty ones: zerowaste company

Sustainable development as corporate strategy

Competitive advantage strategy : new

technologies, focus on customer needs,
innovation and commitment to best
practices and improvement.
Business ethics and corporate governance
Shifting nature of competition in Emerging
Economies
Sustainability definition: meeting the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
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Drivers for sustainable development in emerging economies

Drivers

Development

Economic and
business
opportunities

Increased productivity and product

differentiation
Lean thinking and TQM
Ethically, environmentally responsible
investment

Population

Population decrease in developed economies

and increase in emerging economies
Urbanization and migration

Technology

Clean technology and renewable energy

Environmental
crisis

Restoration natural capital, management

environmental disasters

Inequality

Refugees, service to the poor, trade barriers

Ethics. Staying
Corporate best practices, ethical investing,
ahead of regulation marketing
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Reduced
emissionfor
levels
of toxic
material
New
opportunities
product
differentiation

Measurement of prosperity by less activity and

less use of what is environmentally damaging
Going beyond the compliance levels of
regulation and setting new benchmarks
Smaller amounts wasted
no wastes, but 100
% recycling
Increasing profitability and minimizing risk: Not
merely survival in the competition but
excellence through sustainability principlesregeneration of resources and the saving of
ecology

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Indian legal framework for environmental protection

42nd amendment-state responsibilities, rights, duties of

all citizens
Factories Act, 1987-to counter hazardous industrial
waste
Atomic energy Act, 1962: to control radiation protection
Insecticide Act, 1968; to monitor pesticide residue-softdrinks, foodstuff, bottled water
Wildlife Protection Act 1972
The water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974
Forest Conservation, 1980
Air prevention and control of pollution act, 1981
Environment Protection Act, 1986
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Environmental policy
Objectives:
Conservation of critical environmental
resources
Intra-generational equity, livelihood
security for the poor
Integration of environmental concerns
in economic and social development
Efficiency in environmental resource
use
Environmental governance

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Ascribing Responsibilities: Definitions

Moral Agents

Those who have the

freedom and rational
capacity to be
responsible for choices
Those capable of moral
reflection and decision.
Example: adult humans
of sound mind
Infants and mentally
infirm adults are
NOT moral agents

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Definitions

Moral Standing
Have moral standing
means that
your existence or
welfare is valuable in
itself (intrinsic value)
your interests and wellbeing must be respected
Example: humans of all
kinds
babies, children, adults,
old people, dement
people, mentally sick
people, etc.
women, different races,
different cultures,
minority groups
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Definitions

Moral Duties
That which is owed
by moral agents to
those with moral
standing.
Example: It is
wrong to kill children
because we have a
moral duty toward
them
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Philosophical Issues

Who or what has moral

standing, and why?
Does the
environment have
moral standing?
Must look at criteria
for moral standing
What moral duty do we
(moral agents) have
toward those with moral
standing?
Different ethical
positions suggest
different moral duties.
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Ascribing Moral Standing

Membership in the species

Homo sapiens
Humans are moral
agents and are
responsible for knowing
right from wrong
Humans are intelligent
Humans have
personhood
and self-consciousness
Humans have ability to
communicate and learn

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Moral Standing

Sentience, the
ability to feel pain
Therefore extend
moral standing to
animals

33

Moral Standing

Being alive
Therefore extend moral
standing to animals and
plants:
All living things.
[However, it seems
reasonable to expect
that saving life of a virus
and saving life of a
human is not seen as
equally urgent. ]

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Moral Standing

Being part of nature

Therefore extend
moral standing to the
earth
ecosystems
rocks
rivers
plants animals
the entire natural
world
35

Ethical Positions

AnthropocentrismHuman centered
morality
Only humans
have intrinsic
value and moral
standing.
The rest of the
natural world has
instrumental value
(use to humans).
36

Anthropocentrism
We can best protect
nature by looking out
for human needs.
Ducks Unlimited
preserves wetlands
Saving the
rainforests will
provide O2 and
medicines for
humans.

37

Ethical Positions

Sentio-centrism: Sentientbeing centered morality

All and only sentient
beings (animals that feel
pain) have intrinsic
value and moral
standing.
The rest of the natural
world has instrumental
value.
Both humans and
sentient animals have
rights and/or interests
that must be considered
38

Ethical Positions

http://www.ecologicalinternet.org/

Biocentric Individualism:
Life-centered morality
All and only living beings,
specifically individual
organisms (not species or
ecosystems) have intrinsic
value and moral standing.
Humans are not superior
to other life forms nor
privileged, and must
respect the inherent worth
of every organism
Humans should minimize
harm and interference
with nature: eat vegetarian
since less land needs to
be cultivated.
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Ethical Positions

Eco-centric Holism:
ecosystem centered morality
Non-individuals (the earth as
an interconnected
ecosystem, species, natural
processes) have moral
standing or intrinsic value
and are deserving of
respect.
Individuals must be
concerned about the whole
community of life/nature,
Humans should strive to
preserve ecological balance
and stability.
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Traditional Patriarchal Dualisms

Greek, Roman, Hebrew:

Humans are separate from
and superior to nature
Human, mind, rationality, and
man
are linked and superior
Nature, body, feelings, and
woman
are linked, and inferior
Justifies domination by men over
Nature (Mother Nature)
Women
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Ecofeminism

Rejects Patriarchal Dualisms

The domination of nature
by men is wrong, is similar
to and related to the
domination of women by
men.
Must break the pattern of
"power over" relationships,
will benefit both humans
and the natural world.

42

Topics in Applied Environmental Ethics

Environmental Effects of War

Genetic Engineering
Nanotechnology
Cloning
Resource Allocation
Animals and Vegetarianism
Air and Water Pollution
Radiation
Ozone Crisis and Global Warming
Population and Environment
Indigenous Peoples
Related ethical concepts:
common good | communitarianism | consequentialism |
ecology | environmentalism | ethics: deontological | ethics:
virtue | feminist (interventions): ethics | rights
43

Deep Ecology

Deep ecology is a recent

branch of ecological
philosophy that considers
humankind as an integral
part of its environment.
Deep ecology places greater
value on non-human
species, ecosystems and
processes in nature than
established environmental
and green movements.
44

Deep Ecology

Arne Nss

The core principle of deep

ecology as originally developed is
Norwegian philosopher Arne
Nss's doctrine of biospheric
egalitarianism the claim that
all living things have the same
right to live and flourish.
Deep ecology describes itself as
"deep" because it is concerned
with fundamental philosophical
questions about the role of
human life as one part of the
ecosphere, and aims to avoid
merely utilitarian
environmentalism.
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The Roots of Environmental

Degradation

Western Religions
Humans Dominating Nature
Genesis: God commands humans to "fill the earth and
subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the air and over every living thing...
After the great flood God says to Noah: " the animals will
dread and fear you, and I will give you dominion over
everything that creeps on the ground, and over all the fish
of the sea.

Christians and Jews respond: traditions promote a caregiving stewardship not domination of nature. (Noah story)

Both religious traditions are currently converging towards

forms increasingly concerned with the environment

47

 Animists believe that every part of

the environment, living and nonliving, has consciousness or spirit.
Therefore, all beings deserve
reverence.
Rejection
of Old Animism & Pantheism
Pantheists warship Nature as a
goddess. Nature is sacred or holy
and is worthy of peoples respect.

Western Philosophy

Critics blame its dualism, viewing humans as

separate from and superior to nature

the culprit - den skyldige, boven i dramat

Rene Descartes Mind-Body Dualism

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is blamed for mindbody dualism.

In his dictum I think, therefore I am thought
signifies not only existence, but also human
superiority over other living beings
and inanimate substance.
For Descartes, humans are separate from nature
and superior.
The nature (physical world) is an objectified "thing"
separate from mind.
Some believe that this objectification of nature is a
key to science and progress.
50

Francis Bacon Nature as a Machine

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), father of the

scientific method, promoted a view of nature
as a machine [New Atlantis "a mechanistic
utopia"1624]

He thought nature was like women and

slaves: They should be bound into the
service of men

Many scholars think such thinking shaped

the anti-nature views and formed humannature relations in the west

51

Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

Individual beliefs towards ecology

depend on ethical perspectives
Most people have set of core values or
beliefs
Environmental concerns are a source
for comparisons among different values
and perceptions

52

Worldviews and ethical perspectives

A comparison

53

Environmental Justice

Combination of civil rights and

environmental protection that
demands a safe, healthy lifegiving environment for
everyone
Most people of low socioeconomic position are exposed
to high pollution levels
54

Holistic Approaches Criticisms

Individuals get hurt

when you ignore
them in favor of
wholes
This is the key
criticism of all
ends-focused
theories
In environmental
ethics, the
common charge
is of "ecofascism"!

The Gradual Extension

of Moral Concern..

56

57

58

Environmental Science
Environment - the
circumstances and
conditions that
surround an
organism or a
group of
organisms
Environmental
science - the
systematic study
of our environment
and our place in it59

What ought I to do?

Intention

Duty

Action

Consequence

Deontological Ethics

60

What ought I to do?

Intention

Action

Consequence

Consequentialist Ethics
61

Sustainable Global Development

www.earthcharter.org
A declaration of fundamental
principles for building a just,
sustainable, and peaceful
global society for the 21st
century.
http://www.envirolink.org/
Environmental Resources
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