Environmental Ethics - Emma Forrest

    Environmental ethics asks us to consider what has moral value: only humans, or also animals, plants, landscapes, and ecosystems. A human-centered view argues that we protect nature only because it benefits us. A life-centered view values all living things. An ecocentric view values entire systems, even beyond living beings.

    It is easy to think in human-centered terms without realizing it. We may care about the environment, but mainly in relation to human well-being. If humans depend on ecosystems, then protecting ecosystems is not separate from protecting ourselves. But is self preservation the only reason to protect our ecosystems? What is to say that we matter more than any other plant, animal, being, etc. What made humans think they are the superior species?

    We could think about our about future generations. Do the people who do not yet even exist have a moral claim on the environment today? If so, what obligations do we owe them? This topic forces us to confront uncomfortable truths: convenience often wins over responsibility in daily life. Environmental ethics asks us to redefine what responsibility looks like on a larger, longer scale. 


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