Overview

Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents.

Core Idea

The core idea is expanding the “moral circle” beyond just humans to include animals, plants, ecosystems, and the planet itself.

Formal Definition

It challenges the traditional anthropocentric (human-centered) view of ethics and proposes biocentric (life-centered) or ecocentric (ecosystem-centered) views.

Intuition

  • The Last Man: If the last person on Earth destroyed a beautiful forest before dying, did they do something wrong? An anthropocentrist might say “No, because no humans were harmed.” An environmental ethicist says “Yes, the forest has intrinsic value.”
  • Stewardship: We are not owners of the Earth, but caretakers.

Examples

  • Deep Ecology: The view that all living things have equal right to live and blossom.
  • Climate Change Ethics: The moral obligation to future generations to preserve a habitable planet.
  • Animal Rights: (Often overlaps) The duty not to harm sentient beings.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: It’s just about “hugging trees.”
    • Correction: It involves rigorous arguments about value theory, rights, and intergenerational justice.
  • Misconception: We must stop all development.
    • Correction: Most argue for sustainable development, balancing human needs with environmental health.
  • Anthropocentrism: The view that only humans have intrinsic value.
  • Intrinsic vs. Instrumental Value: Is a tree valuable in itself (intrinsic) or only because it gives us wood/oxygen (instrumental)?
  • Tragedy of the Commons: The economic/ethical problem of shared resources being depleted.

Applications

  • Policy: Carbon taxes, endangered species acts, and conservation laws.
  • Corporate Responsibility: ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria for companies.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Eco-Fascism: The fear that prioritizing the “ecosystem” could lead to sacrificing individual human rights (e.g., forced population control).
  • Practicality: It is hard to weigh the interests of a river against the interests of a human community needing a dam.

Further Reading

  • A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (The Land Ethic)
  • Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
  • Environmental Ethics by Holmes Rolston III