What is Environmental Ethics?


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Environmental Ethics:‑

Environmental Ethics: Indian and western perspectives. What is Environmental Ethics?

Does the earth exist for the benefit of humanity? Do humans have any ethical obligations with respect to the natural world? Have we the right to-take all the Earth’s resources for our own use? Do other species have an intrinsic right to exist? Do trees have legal standing? What do various religions have to say about humanity’s relationship-to the rest of the living world? These and similar questions are addressed in the study of environmental ethics.

 

We are cutting down forests for making our homes. ‘We are continuing with an excessive consumption of natural resources. Their excessive use is resulting in their depletion, risking the life of our future generations. Is this ethical? This is the issue that environmental ethics takes up. Scientists like Rachel Carson and the environmentalists who led philosophers to consider the philosophical aspect of environmental problems, pioneered in the development of environmental ethics as a branch of environmental philosophy. The Earth Day celebration of 1970 was also one of the factors, which led to the development of environmental ethics as a separate field of study. This field received impetus when it was first discussed in the academic journals in North America and Canada. Around the same time, this field also emerged in Australia an Norway. Today, environmental ethics is one of the major concerns of mankind

 

When industrial Processes lead to destruction of resources, is it not the industry’s responsibility to responsibility to restore the depleted resources? Moreover, can a restored environment make  up for the originally natural one ? Mining processes hamper the ecology of certain areas they may result in the disruption of plant and animal life in those areas.

 

 

Most of the human activities lead to environmental pollution. The overly increasing human population is increasing the human demand for resources like food and shelter. As the population is exceeding the carrying capacity of our planet, natural environments are being used for human inhabitation.

 

Thus human beings are disturbing the natural balance. The harm we, as human beings, are causing to the nature, is coming back to us by resulting in a polluted environment. The depletion of natural resources is endangering our future generations. The imbalance in nature that we have caused is going to disrupt our life as well.

 

Environmental ethics stresses the fact that all the life forms on Earth have a right to live. By destroying nature we are depriving these life forms of their right to live. We are going against the true ethical and moral values by disturbing the balance in nature. We are being unethical in treating the plant and animal life forms, which coexist in society.

Human beings have certain duties towards their fellow beings. On similar lines, we have a set of duties towards our environment. Environmental ethics says that we. Should base our behavior on a set of ethical values that guide our approach towards the other living beings in nature.

Environmental ethics is about including the rights of non-human animals in our ethical and moral values. Even if the human race is considered the primary concern of society, animals and plants are in no way less important. They have a right to get their fair share of existence.

We, the human beings, along with the other forms of life make up he society. We all are a part of the food chain and thus closely associated with each other. We, together form our environment. The conservation of natural resources is not only the need of the day but also our prime duty.

Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely, including humans to including the non-human world. It exerts influence on a large range of disciplines including law, sociology theology, economics, ecology and geography.

 

 

 


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