Environmental World Views and the Ethics

Environmental World Views and the Ethics

It is an individual’s belief about what one's own role in the world should be and what is the right or wrong environmental behaviors and how the world works in that conditions.

There are conflicting views about how serious environmental problems are and what we should do about them. These conflicts arise mostly out of differing environmental views.

Environmental world views are divided into two different types:

1. Atomistic Environmental Worldviews (Individual-centered)
2. Holistic Environmental Worldviews (Earth-centered)

Atomistic Environmental Worldviews:

The atomistic environmental worldviews primarily focus on the individual species and the individual organism that is present on the biosphere in that condition. Different types of measurement approaches are used to conserve the individual species present on the earth’s biosphere.

Holistic Environmental Worldviews:

The holistic environmental worldviews that focus on:

• Natural system
• Life forms
• Life supports system
• For all species

Anthropogenic Worldviews

According to the Anthropogenic world views, human beings as the planet’s most important and dominant species should manage the planet mostly for their own benefit. Other species and the parts to nature are seen as having only the instrumental value (the value something has because of its own usefulness to us or to the biosphere) based on how useful they are to us.

The basic environmental beliefs of human–centered worldviews:

1) We are the planet's most important species and we are apart from the in charge of the rest of nature.

2) There is always the more resources.

3) All economic growth is good and the potential for global economic growth is essentially limitless.

4) Our success depends on how well we can understand, control and manage the earth’s life-support system for our benefit.

School of thought:

• No problem School- all problems can be solved with technology.
• Free-Market School- the best way to manage the earth is to use the free market global with minimum interferences and the regulation.
• Responsible Planetary Management- hold enlightened, self- interest, or the thought that better earth care is better self-care. Want to mix the economy, technology, and the government intervention.
• Space-ship- earth view: the earth is the spaceship, with the complex machine that we can understand and manage.
• Stewardship: we have a responsibility to care for and be responsible for an earth and we should treat it as our guardian.

Biocentric Worldviews:

(Life centered Worldviews)

Most of the people with biocentric worldviews believe that we have an ethical responsibility to:

1. Not cause the premature extinction of the species.
2. Actively protect a species from going extinct because of our activities.

Most people give protection of a species priority over protection of an individual member of the species. The reason is that what an individual of a species dies another one replace it when a species become biologically extinct and its genetic linkage ends. Each species is a unique storehouse of genetic information that:

1. Should be respected and protected because it exists.
2. Is a potential economic good for human use.
3. Is capable through evolution and speciation of adopting the change in environmental conditions.

Ecocentric Worldviews:

We are the part, not apart from the community of life and the ecological process that sustain all life. The Ecocentric environmental worldview is also called as the environmental wisdom worldview.

It is based on the following major beliefs which are the opposite of those making up the planetary management worldviews.

• We are part of nature and nature does not exist just for us. (Each species has an inherent right to exist and survive).
• There is not always more. (The earth’s resources are limited, should not be wasted because efficiency and sustainability are for all and for all other).
• Some forms of the technology and economy are growth and environmentally beneficial and should be specified, encouraged but some are environmentally harmful and should be discouraged.

Our success depends on:

Learning how the Earth sustains itself and adapts to ever change environmental condition and integrating such scientific lessons from nature into the ways we think and act.

Sociology Ecology Worldview

• As long as we have an industrial society, we will be damaging the environment.
• This will cause decentralization of political and economic systems.

Living sustainably

Evaluating Sustainability

We are not familiar with the environmental questions, so we ought to follow the precautionary principle- use prevention guidelines and strategies for developing sustainable societies.

Ethical guidelines for Earth

Ecosphere and ecosystem

1. We should try to understand nature.
2. When we alter nature, first we should do our best to avoid environmental harm.

Species and Culture

1. We should work to preserve the genetic diversity.
2. We may do what we must stay alive, but we should do what it takes to avoid premature extinction of other species.
3. We must protect ecosystem to save species.
4. No human culture should become extinct because of present actions.

Individual Responsibility

1. We should not cause any suffering to our food sources.
2. We should leave the earth better than we found it.
3. We should only what we have.
4. We should heal the wounds we have already caused.

Earth Education

We should teach our children about our earth

1. Respect life.
2. Understand earth.
3. Understand interactions between humans and the earth.
4. Seek wisdom.
5. Evaluate personal worldviews.
6. Evaluate consequences of lifestyle and professions.
7. Use critical thinking skills.
8. Want to help the earth.

Learning to work with Earth.

1. Listen to our children .
2. Learn to make our own area sustainable.
3. Have fun to save the earth.

Learning to live simple: Gandi’s Philosophies

1. Voluntary simplicity- does and enjoys things more with less.
2. It is based on the Gandi’s Principle of enoughness- the earth provides enough had we should use the minimal amounts of everything.
3. This is not the same as forced simplicity that plagues those that cannot afford to have possessions.
4. Law of progressive simplifications- we must transfer energy from the material to non-material.

Moving on

We need to stop the blaming and start taking responsibility.

We must avoid the four traps:

1. Avoid the common mental traps that lead to the denial, indifference, and inaction

• Gloom and doom pessimism feeling it’s over.
• Blind technological optimism science will save us.
• Fatalism- we have no control of the future.
• Extrapolation to infinity - if there’s no quick fix, why bother?
• Paralysis by analysis - try to find the perfect solution before acting.
• Only faith is the simple to answer.

2. We must realize no one can do it all.

3. Hope it vital.

4.There are more than one possible answers.

Components of the earth –Wisdom Revolution

• Efficiency revolution to make the most of the earth.
• Pollution prevention.
• Sufficiency revolution- being sure that everyone has his or her basic needs.
• Demographic revolution-balance population growth.
• Seeing the world as a flow of matter and energy.

References

Santra, S.C. Environmet\nt Science . India: New Central Book Agency (p) Ltd., 2004.

T., Richard. Towards a Sustainable Future . India: PHI (p)Limited, 2008.