Already a subscriber? - Login here
Not yet a subscriber? - Subscribe here

Browse by:



Displaying: 1-11 of 11 documents


news and notes
1. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
NEWS AND NOTES (1)
view |  rights & permissions | cited by
from the editor
2. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Nuts and Bolts
view |  rights & permissions | cited by
features
3. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Kenneth Sayre Morality, Energy, and the Environment
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Our erises of energy and of social values are eausally interrelated. Our energy problems have contributed substantially to our contemporary value problems, as evident, for example, by the institution of the private automobile, whieh has begun to erode the very values it initially served. That our energy erisis has resulted from problems of value is illustrated by setting up a simple model of producer-consumerinteraetion, with egoism and hedonism as dominant prineiples of duty and of good respeetively, and by showing that an energy crisis like the one we are currently experieneing is practically inevitable. These discussions lead to an assessment of the possible roles moral philosophy might play in confronting these two crises.
4. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Tom Regan The Nature and Possibility of an Environmental Ethic
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
A conception of an environmental ethic is set forth which involves postulating that nonconscious natural objects can have value in their own right, independently of human interests. Two kinds of objection are considered: (1) those that deny the possibility (the intelligibility) of developing an ethic ofthe environment that accepts this postulate, and (2) those.that deny the necessity of constructing such an ethic. Both types of objection are found wanting. The essay condudes with some tentative remarks regarding the notion of inherent value.
discussion papers
5. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Iqtidar H. Zaidi On the Ethics of Man’s Interaction with the Environment: An Islamic Approach
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
I argue that Islam provides very efficient ethical principles for dealing with the present ecological crisis, a crisis rooted in moral deprivation. I reject the maximization of benefits from natural resources without giving due consideration to the adverse environmental impact of such actions, and argue that this practice is based on injustices generated by factors like greed, extravagance, and ignorance, among others. So far, Western solutions of such problems have generally been based purely on materialistic approaches which place emphasis on secular technological models without any linkage with metaphysical doctrines. Islam recognizes that man by virtue of his creation is a superior being, one for the service of whom the Earth was created; but at the same time man has been made responsible for any departure inhis behavior from the ways laid down by Almighty Allah. Man’s activities, according to Islam, must be based on the idea that this world is a transitory abode, and that man has to gain God’s favor in order to be able to find a better place in the other world. Hence, man's actions, as manifestations of his faith, must be properly and effectively administered, requiring justice, Taqwa (piety), and appropriate knowledge and understanding of environmental problems.
6. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Rita K. Hessley Should Government Regulate Procreation?
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Donald Lee has claimed that of three ethical values, freedom, justice, and security-survival, involved in the effects of population growth on the future and the survival of all human beings, security-survival is the most fundamental. As such, it should have priority over freedom and justice. Based on this hierarchy, Lee draws the conclusion that one does not have the right to unlimited procreation, and that ultimately it is the duty of government to impose limits on population growth. I accept Lee’s argument that personal rights must be balanced by personal responsibility, but I argue that justice is the fundamental ethical principle in this discussion. This is not a trivial distinction, for it leads to two significant conclusions. First, by focusing proper attention on justice, the threat to survival of the race from overpopulation is reduced to reasonable and realistic proportions. Second, and particulady important with regard to Lee’s position, the recognition of the need for justice brings to light the fact that the primary responsibility of government is to address itself to redressing injustice in society, injustice which does pose a very real threat to the survival of mankind. In this context, I argue that under no circumstances should government have the right or the responsibility to enforce limits on procreation.
7. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Michael S. Pritchard, Wade L. Robison Justice and the Treatment of Animals: A Critique of Rawls
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Although the participants in the initial situation of justice in John Rawls’ Theory of Justice choose principles of justice only, their choices have implications for other moral concerns. The only check on the self-interest of the participants is that there be unanimous acceptance of the principles. But, since animals are not participants, it is possible that principles will be adopted which confiict with what Rawls calls“duties of compassion and humanity” toward animals. This is a consequence of the initial situation’s assumption that principles of justice can be determined independently of other moral considerations. We question this assumption, and show that satisfactory modifications of Rawls’ initial situation undermine its contractarian basis and require the rejection of exclusively self-interested participants.
news and notes
8. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
NEWS AND NOTES (2)
view |  rights & permissions | cited by
discussion papers
9. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Charles Tolman Karl Marx, Alienation, and the Mastery of Nature
abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Donald Lee’s account in “The Marxian View” is inaccurate in asserting the centrality of an abstract conception of alienation based on a speculattve understanding of human nature. This was precisely the view rejected by Marx in 1845. The development of Marx’s materialist conception of human nature is traced in order to show the importance to his analysis of the forces and relations of production. Somespecific difficulties in Lee’s account are discussed, and the broad implications of Marxist theory regarding environmental problems and the mastery of nature are presented.
book reviews
10. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Robert C. Richardson The Darwinian Revolution: Science Red in Tooth and Claw
view |  rights & permissions | cited by
11. Environmental Ethics: Volume > 3 > Issue: 1
Bill Devall Environment, Technology and Health: Human Ecology in Historic Perspective
view |  rights & permissions | cited by