With consideration of the issues and concepts discussed in this module, what, in your view, is the moral relationship between humans and the environment?

 

Human kind has an obligation both a moral and an ethical one, to look after and protect the environment not only for now but for future generations.  If Human kind is to survive long enough to evolve and go on then the world we live in needs to be cared for and respected.

A second opinion held by some environmental philosophers is that we have no moral obligation to future generations as they cannot reciprocate.  This actually seems quite harsh, without moral obligation to the environment then there would unlikely be a planet for our descendants to inhabit

Anthropocentrism literally means “human-centeredness “. An anthropocentric ethic claims that only human beings are morally considerable in their own right, meaning that all the direct moral obligations we possess, including those we have with regard to the environment, are owed to our fellow human beings. The moral obligation between humans and the environment exists now, because it is our environment, our home that is being effected by damaged being caused to the environment.

A third view is Early Christian views which show that humans have no responsibility towards the environment as humans are given a dominion over it. This means that God has given humans authority over the earth, animals and plants

The granting of moral standing to future generations - Human beings who do not yet exist, is considered necessary because of the fact that many environmental problems, such as climate change and resource depletion, will affect future humans much more than they affect present ones.

Although having said this the question remains who are the future human beings.

The relationship between the environment and humans can be complicated, as human morals are individualized and humans place values on things that are important to them so a farmer may have a stronger moral view on the environment than say an oil or office worker.

In the end my view is that humans individually and collectively have a moral relationship to the environment in order to protect ourselves and future generations of all living forms from harm.

 

345 words

 

Brennan, A & Lo, YS 2010, Understanding environmental philosophy, Acumen, Durham UK, pp. 18-37.

Carson, R 2000, Silent Spring, Penguin, London, pp. 21-30.

Hardin, G 2005, 'Who Cares for Posterity?', in LP Pojman (ed.), Environmental ethics: readings in theory and application, 4th ed., Wadsworth, Belmont CA, pp. 324-30.

Westra, L & ECI 2005, 'The Earth Charter: From Global Ethics to International Law Instrument', in LP Pojman (ed.), Environmental ethics: readings in theory and application, 4th ed., Wadsworth, Belmont CA, pp. 590-6.