1

Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

Department of Computer Science and EngineeringMälardalen University

2007

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

CDT409

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

2

Environmental Ethics

3

The Earth

"We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our

children."

    Native American saying

4

Is Nature Fragile or Resilient*?

Nature seen as powerful in past

Nature seen as a delicate balance as technology increases our ability to disrupt

*resilient - som har lätt för att återhämta sig (komma igen) elastisk, spänstig

5

6

Science as a Way of KnowingA 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.

7

Current Environmental Conditions

Half the world’s wetlands were lost in the last 100 years.

Land conversion and logging have shrunk the world’s forests by as much as 50%.

Nearly three-quarters of the world’s major marine fish stocks are overfished or are being harvested beyond a sustainable rate.

Soil degradation has affected two-thirds of the world’s agricultural lands in the last 50 years.

8

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.

9

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 world’s poorest people are often forced to meet short-term survival needs at the cost of long-term sustainability.

Human Dimensions of Environmental Degradation

10

Resource Extraction and Use

Burning of fossil fuels Destruction of tropical

rainforests and other biologically rich landscapes

Production of toxic wastes

11

Management Ethics and the Environment

Anthropocentric Approaches– Corporate Social

Responsibility• Stakeholder• Normative• Social Contract

Green Management– Ecocentricism– Adjusted Stakeholder– Sustainablity– Resource Based Approach

12

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 welbeing of people.

13

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?

14

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?

15

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.

16

Green Management

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

Sustaincentric - 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.

17

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

18

Definitions

Moral Standing– Have moral standing means

that• your existence or welfare is

valuable in itself (intrinsic value)

• your interests and well-being 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

19

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

20

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.

21

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

22

Moral Standing

Sentience, the ability to feel pain– Therefore extend moral

standing to animals

23

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. ]

24

Moral Standing

Being part of nature– Therefore extend moral

standing to the • earth• ecosystems• rocks• rivers• plants animals • the entire natural world

25

Ethical Positions

Anthropocentrism- Human centered morality– Only humans have

intrinsic value and moral standing.

– The rest of the natural world has instrumental value (use to humans).

26

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.

27

Ethical Positions Sentio-centrism: Sentient-being

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

28

Ethical Positions

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.

http://www.ecologicalinternet.org/

29

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.

30

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

31

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.

32

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

Topics in Applied Environmental Ethics

33

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.

34

Deep Ecology

The core principle of deep ecology as originally developed is Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss'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.

Arne Næss

The Roots of Environmental Degradation

36

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 care-giving stewardship not domination of nature. (Noah story)

Both religious traditions are currently converging towards forms

increasingly concerned with the environment

Western Religions

– Animists believe that every part of the environment, living and non-living, has consciousness or spirit. Therefore, all beings deserve reverence.

– Pantheists warship Nature as a goddess. Nature is sacred or holy and is worthy of peoples respect.

Rejection of Old Animism & Pantheism

Western Philosophy

Critics blame its “dualism,” viewing humans as separate from and superior to nature

the culprit - den skyldige, boven i dramat

39

Rene DescartesMind-Body Dualism

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

In his dictum “I think, therefore I am” thought signifies not only existence, but also human superiority over other living beingsand 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’.

40

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 human-nature relations in the west

41

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

42

Worldviews and ethical perspectives A comparison

Philosophy Intrinsic Value Instrumental Value Role of humans

Anthropocentric Humans Nature Masters

Stewardship Humans & Nature Tools Caretakers

Biocentric Species Abiotic nature One of many

Animal rights Individuals Processes Equals

Ecocentric Processes Individuals Destroyers

Ecofeminist Relationships Roles Caregivers

43

Environmental Justice

Combination of civil rights and environmental protection that demands a safe, healthy life-giving environment for everyone

Most people of low socio-economic position are exposed to high pollution levels

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 "eco-fascism"!

45

The Gradual Extension of Moral Concern..

46

47

48

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 it

49

IntentionIntention ActionAction ConsequenceConsequence

DutyDutyDeontological EthicsDeontological Ethics

What ought I to do?

50

IntentionIntention ActionAction ConsequenceConsequence

Consequentialist EthicsConsequentialist Ethics

What ought I to do?

51

http://www.envirolink.org/Environmental Resources

www.earthcharter.org A declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century.

Sustainable Global Development

52

References

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2002/entries/ethics-environmental

http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Applied/Environment/index.asp Ethics Updates - Environmental Ethics Resources

http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/environmental/index.html Environmental Ethics Resources on World Wide Web

http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/envi-eth.htm Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

www.clas.ufl.edu/users/bron/pp/EE2.ppt Important Questions In Environmental Ethics

www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford/EnvironmentalEthics.ppt