The Earth. Environmental Ethics. Is Nature Fragile or Resilient*? PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CDT409. Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

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1 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CDT409 Environmental Ethics ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic Department of Computer Science and Engineering Mälardalen University The Earth Is Nature Fragile or Resilient*? "We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our children." Native American saying Nature seen as powerful in past Nature seen as a delicate balance as technology increases our ability to disrupt 3 *resilient - som har lätt för att återhämta sig (komma igen) elastisk, spänstig 4

2 Science as a Way of Knowing A 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. 5 6 Current Environmental Conditions Major Causes of Environmental Degradation 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. 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. 7 8

3 Human Dimensions of Environmental Degradation Resource Extraction and Use 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. Burning of fossil fuels Destruction of tropical rainforests and other biologically rich landscapes Production of toxic wastes The world s poorest people are often forced to meet short-term survival needs at the cost of long-term sustainability Management Ethics and the Environment Environmental Ethics and Business Anthropocentric Approaches Corporate Social Responsibility Stakeholder Normative Social Contract Green Management Ecocentricism Adjusted Stakeholder Sustainablity Resource Based Approach 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

4 Economic Fundamentalism and Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility 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? 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? Incorporating Environmental Ethics into Management Green 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. 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? 15 Sustaincentric - going beyond sustainability of development that meets the needs of the present without 16

5 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 Definitions Moral Standing Have moral standing means that your existence or welfare is valuable in itself (intrinsic value) your interests and wellbeing 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 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 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

6 Ascribing Moral Standing 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 Sentience, the ability to feel pain Therefore extend moral standing to animals Moral Standing 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. ] Being part of nature Therefore extend moral standing to the earth ecosystems rocks rivers plants animals the entire natural world 23 24

7 Ethical Positions Anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism- Human centered morality Only humans have intrinsic value and moral standing. The rest of the natural world has instrumental value (use to humans). We can best protect nature by looking out for human needs. Ducks Unlimited preserves wetlands Saving the rainforests will provide O 2 and medicines for humans Ethical Positions 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 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

8 Ethical Positions Traditional Patriarchal Dualisms 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. 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 Rejects Patriarchal Dualisms Ecofeminism 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. 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 Topics in Applied Environmental Ethics Related ethical concepts: common good communitarianism consequentialism ecology environmentalism ethics: deontological ethics: virtue feminist (interventions): ethics rights 31 32

9 Deep Ecology 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. Arne Næss 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 The Roots of Environmental Degradation Western Religions 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 36

10 Rejection of Old Animism & Pantheism Western Philosophy 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. Critics blame its dualism, viewing humans as separate from and superior to nature the culprit - den skyldige, boven i dramat Rene Descartes Mind-Body Dualism Rene Descartes ( ) 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 beings and 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. Francis Bacon Nature as a Machine Francis Bacon ( ), 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 39 40

11 Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives Worldviews and ethical perspectives A comparison 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 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 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"! 43

12 The Gradual Extension of Moral Concern 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 47 48

13 What ought I to do? What ought I to do? Intention Action Consequence Intention Action Consequence Duty Deontological Ethics Consequentialist Ethics Sustainable Global Development References The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward N. Zalta (ed.), A declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century. Environmental Resources Ethics Updates - Environmental Ethics Resources Environmental Ethics Resources on World Wide Web Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Important Questions In Environmental Ethics