Environmental ethics - what is it?

Environmental Ethics - a doctrine of moral attitude towards nature, based on the perception of nature as a moral partner (moral subject), the recognition of the intrinsic value of nature, equality of rights of all living beings and the restriction of a person’s. needs.

 

The main objective of Environmental Ethics - destroy the old consumer inhumane attitude towards nature and form a new ethico-ecological attitude based on respect for any form of life on the Earth and responsibility for our own actions in the world.

 

Two opposing paradigms relating to the status of a man in nature are the basis of environmental ethics as a new philosophical direction: anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism. From the point of view of anthropocentrism, man is the highest value in nature, and everything else is considered valuable in so far as it may be useful to man. Non-anthropocentrism - a world view, according to which everything in nature has the same value, and a person is not seen as the "crown" of nature, but as a part of it.

 

Non-anthropocentrism includes 2 main areas: biocentrism and ecocentrism. They call a man to abandon his antropoegoizma and in activities to take into account the interests of all living beings on the Earth.

The main positions of the non-anthropocentrism:

 

1) the natural world consists of diversity of living and non-living subjects;
2) everything in nature is interconnected;
3) any species is unique and significant value;
4) a person is not entitled to decide which species is more or less valuable in nature;

5) a person must care for the protection of all species and all living beings on the Earth, directing a special effort to protect their habitat.

 

The German-French theologian, physician and philosopher, Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) and the American ecologist, zoologist and philosopher Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) are traditionally considered to be the founders of environmental ethics.

 

Currently, environmental ethics is taught as a compulsory subject in schools, colleges and universities of the USA, Canada, Australia, Finland and others. In Belarus it has been studied at the International Sakharov Environmental University from 2000 to 2014.