...Holmes Nicholas Holmes 912416549 Environmental Ethics Rationally Persuasive Paper 1 12/10/2013 The Inaction that repetitively plagues the Environmental Movement can be brought to an end by doing something new. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. --Albert Einstein. Since there is doubt to the severity of or even the existence of the environmental crisis, this paper will operate under the presupposition that the environment is indeed in dire straits, and that the ultimate solution should produce a utopian society where man and environment are judged equally. This paper is written from the contentious perspective. Through this perspective it is implicit; by the environment's current state, coupled with the assumption of human responsibility, and the obligation human morality, the notion that something must be done by humans in regards of addressing the environment's plight. That something; must be different from what is currently, and has historically been done. The justification for this statement comes from Albert Einstein’s Epitaph. We need to strike out. Enacting positive drastic changes in the state in the environment will require drastic changes in our collective ethos. It is the task of the environmental movement to; not only figure out what these changes are, and which ones will work best, but to also integrate the changes in to the mainstream. Obviously there must be division of labor within the movement...
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...Sebastian Estrada PHIL 3360: Environmental Ethics Dr. Vicki Toscano Issues paper#1 Anthropocentrism vs. Biocentrism 1/26/2012 The Historical Roots of our ecologic crisis is an article written by Lynn T. White, Jr. published in the journal Science in 1966. White was a medieval scholar and in this article he blames technology, Christianity, and anthropocentrism as the “Roots” of our ecologic crisis. He states, “All forms of life modify their contexts,” but believes that this modification should be for the good of the earth like the coral polyp. He states Man must coexist with nature. Man had always been a dynamic element in harmony with the earth. This all changed sometime around the 1850 when the “Baconian Creed” of scientific knowledge started influencing the people. As a result man began to exploit the earth through new advents in technology. White cites the invention of the eight-oxen plow as the beginning of man’s “ruthlessness” towards nature. White continues to argue that Christian Axioms fueled this newfound exploitive attitude towards earth. To White, Christianity’s story of creation and notion that “no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve man’s purpose (White).” only served to justify these actions and put Christianity as “the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen.” White continues to argue that simply applying more science and more technology to our ecologic crisis is not going to solve the problem. To him the issue is essentially...
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...University of Phoenix Material Terms and Definitions Worksheet Write brief descriptions for each of the following terms. If you use an outside source to define them, include an APA citation for the source. Scientific method “The way a scientist approaches a problem (by formulating a hypothesis and then testing it by means of an experiment)” (Raven, Berg, & Hassenzahl, 2010, p. G-13). This means that an individual uses a possible outcome to analyze and determine if the results are possible. Environmental science “The interdisciplinary study of how humanity interacts with other organisms and the nonliving physical environment” (Raven, Berg, & Hassenzahl, 2010, p. G-6). An analysis of the interconnections between living and nonliving species. Anthropocentrism “Focusing primarily or exclusively on human needs and interests” (Raven, Berg, & Hassenzahl, 2010, p. G-1). This means that an individual is self-centered, only worried about their needs or the needs of the humans. Biocentrism “Focusing on all life-forms as equally important” (Raven, Berg, & Hassenzahl, 2010, p. G-2). This means that an individual believes that all species are one, and that all live is valuable. Dualism “The state of being dual or consisting of two parts; division into two” (Dualism, 2012). This means that one was split into two equal parts. Ecocentrism “The view or belief that environmental concerns should take precedence over the needs and rights of human beings considered in isolation” (Ecocentrism...
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...ECOCENTRISM AND ANTHROPOCENTRISM: MORAL REASONING ABOUT ECOLOGICAL COMMONS DILEMMAS KATHERINE V. KORTENKAMP AND COLLEEN F. MOORE University of WisconsinMadison Abstract When do humans extend their ethical scope to include nature? Anthropocentrism and ecocentrism are two ways of understanding an extension of ethics to nature. In an anthropocentric ethic nature deserves moral consideration because how nature is treated a¡ects humans. In an ecocentric ethic nature deserves moral consideration because nature has intrinsic value. In two experiments participants (n=91 and 84) generated moral reasoning responses to ecological moral dilemmas. The reasoning was coded as ecocentric, anthropocentric, or nonenvironmental (i.e., social contracts, truthfulness). Individual di¡erences and situational variables were examined in relation to moral reasoning about ecological dilemmas. Pro-environmental attitudes were related to more ecocentrica nd anthropocentrica nd less nonenvironmental reasoning. The presence of information about the impact of ecological damage on the environment, especially a more ‘‘wild’’ environment, elicited more ecocentric reasoning, while the presence of a social commitment elicited more nonenvironmental moral reasoning. The implications of the research for con£icts over environmental commons dilemmas are discussed. # 2001 Academic Press Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism: Moral Reasoning about Ecological Dilemmas There is as yet no ethicd ealing with...
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...|[pic] |Syllabus | | |College of Natural Sciences | | |SCI/362 Version 6 | | |Environmental Issues and Ethics | Copyright © 2010, 2009, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course applies scientific, philosophical, economic, and ethical principles to current and future environmental issues. Students will analyze the cumulative impact of human activities on global ecosystems, as well as responsibilities to the natural world, in terms of the complex interrelationships humans have with their environment. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies...
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...Introduction ❖ Group point of view • Society - Points to concern Government Education Economic Definition • ❖ Environmental ethics • ❖ Protection of environment • ❖ Overview worldwide environmental problematic (Introduction to the problem) Global warming Main types of pollution Preservation of trees Animal experimentation Disagreement • Business Utilitarianism Anthropocentric ethics Kantian theory Counterargument Agreement To future generation Giving a great habitat to animals Biocentric ethics Ecocentric ethics Conclusion We live with the world Introduction: Since the environment problem has taken attention in today's society, there have been number of opinions about our obligations with nature. Some people claim that human has the right to act and that nature is here just to satisfy human desires and needs. In the other hand, there is a group of people who state that this argument sound egoist because we are not the only species living in this world and we should share this earth with species. “Individuals can not be used as merely as a means to the end- there are ends in themselves” Kant basic ideas here are that persons have the position to make rational choice about their own lives. They have moral autonomy and fee will. This fact about person confers dignity upon them. They command respect. To treat people as a mean to some other end, be it own welfare or that of others, it is fail to...
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...The Ethics of Design The industrial revolution was a period between 18th and 19th centuries in which the world transitioned from a more natural environment, to heavy industry and infrastructure. During the industrial revolution, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban through advancements in technology and manufacturing processes. Growth in industrialism in combination with an anthropocentric world view, brought with it a lack of sentiment for the environment, health risks, and resource depletion. Naturally, as ideologies have shifted to a more basic biocentric point of view, people have sought out to replace the design and production methods of industrial environmentally hurtful materials with more sustainable methods. Among these people are William McDonough, and American architect, and Michael Braungart, a German chemist. Based on the idea that nature is a designer and that human industrial structure works in contrast to the natural environment, McDonough and Braungart have pioneered “cradle to cradle” design which attempts to imitate nature’s structural design that produces without pollution. Additionally, David R. Keller and E. Charles Brummer, professors and directors of studies, have developed postmechanistic agricultural ideas to humane and environmentally conscious food production. To offer a greater philosophical view, Aldo Leopold’s, “The Land Ethic” reorients ethics to view human beings as members of a much larger biotic community...
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...This article is a copy of the one published in New Society Magazine No.237, January-February 2012, ISSN 0251-3552, www.nuso.org A major transition for a great transformation Reflections from the Yasuní-ITT Initiative René Ramírez Gallegos1 When discussing the development of a political project from the Left there are two opposing positions or aspects: those which promote the idea of better managing and regulating capitalism – that is, striving for “good capitalism” – and those who hold anticapitalist positions. The author of this article argues that a Left that does not give up on the generation of alternatives to capitalism but at the same time is responsible for governing, should think about a “great transition” without losing sight of the horizon of a “great transformation”. This article analyzes the Yasuní-ITT Initiative and presents it as an example of how to merge concrete and innovative proposals (transition) and utopias which go beyond capitalist development (transformation). Key words: Left, Capitalism, Good Living/Sumak Kawsay, Yasuní-ITT The world does not need alternatives for development, but alternatives to development. The world does not need to “better” use capitalism, but to transform it. That is the great historical challenge that the Left should take on, both intellectually and politically. The concept of “development” has been recycled and reborn again and again for all its critics and detractors. However, in a strict sense it has never been questioned...
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...FROM “(R)EVOLUTION” TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: CURRENT FEATURES AND PERSPECTIVES ABSTRACT This article aims to address the issue of Sustainable Development (SD) in an evolutionary perspective within its multidisciplinary scope. The complexity of developments for sustainability has frequently proven difficult in its implementation, evaluation and effective communication.It was our intention to provide an outline of the diverse views on the subject, focusing on globalization as a change of attitude towards sustainability.It is a review of terminology associated with the SD and its multiple interpretations.It is referenced the apparent and irrelevant impact of initiatives to solve the economic, social and environmental problem. It emphasizes the influence and importance of strategies and the positioning of SMEs on the way to SD in the policy of act local think global. KEYWORDS Strategy Sustainable development Sustainability, SMEs JERÓNIMO, WINSTON CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal OLIVEIRA, NUNO GASPAR DE CIGEST, Assistente Instituto Superior de Gestão, Portugal 1. INTRODUCTION “(R)Evolution or Death”, adapted from the revolutionary slogan used and popularized by the Cuban regime, serves as motto for the urgent need to transform our production and consumption systems and our standing towards the environment around us....
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... ET AL . Conclusion: Knowledge and Skills for Professional Practice Tim W. Clark Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative Murray B. Rutherford Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative Kim Ziegelmayer Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Michael J. Stevenson Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Most professionals beginning their careers in species and ecosystem conservation conceive of their future work in terms of hands-on tasks in the field (“doing something important in the real world”). Whether on the domestic or the international scene, typically the forester sees themselves laying out timber sales, the fisheries biologist looks forward to surveying streams, and the range specialist expects to be classifying grasslands. Current curricula in most universities largely mirror this common view. We train future foresters to address logging problems in the Pacific Northwest or in the tropics, or conservation biologists to design a reserve or study an endangered species. But in actual practice, most professionals spend only part—and sometimes a small part—of their time attending to technical tasks in the field. Professionals, over a career or a lifetime, participate in many activities well beyond fieldwork, and there is much more to building a successful professional practice today than skills...
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