The Role of Non-egoistic Tendency in Environmental Ethics

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 The Role of Non-egoistic Tendency in Environmental Ethics Thandar Moe Abstract This paper is an attempt to show the role of Non-egoistic tendency (wu-wei) in Taoism which may be applied to bring forth the reciprocal relationship among the societies and cultures in world-wide sense. It provides the ethical guidance for holistic ethics of environmental conservation for its tendency of controlling or modifying the egoistic attitudes of human beings. The aim of this paper is to point out a way that can be applied to reduce the extreme attitude of human beings. From this research it can be expected that the proper understanding of the Non-egoistic tendency will be guidance for reconciling and changing the egoistic attitude of human beings which is the main course of several environmental issues in today's world. Key words: wu-wei, Taoism, environmental ethics Introduction In this paper the Non-egoistic tendency (wu-wei) of Taoism will be defined as the proportional synthesis of extreme views of egoism and altruism. At this point, the conceptual significance of Non-egoistic tendency is chiefly concerned with the conceptual modification of egoism and altruism. In philosophical studies, egoism is the theory that one s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one s own action and thinking about one s happiness more than anyone else. On the contrary, altruism is the view that one's actions ought to further the interests or good of other people and caring about the happiness of other people more than one s own. These two are poles apart in this respect. From studying these two polar opposing moral philosophies, it is clear that both insist on their uncompromising attitudes and there is no inclination to reconcile their opposite way of thinking. Nevertheless, the concept of Non-egoistic tendency may be a way to reconcile the polar thoughts of egoism and altruism. In this paper, an attempt will be made to bring about a reconciliation of egoism and altruism in the light of this conception. According to Lao Tzu, Tao is the Way to act for one to preserve nature in the same way as one preserves his life, to avoid harm and danger Assistant Lecturer, Dr., Department of Philosophy, West Yangon University

74 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 as well as to live sagely in the world. Thus, the goal of human beings is to achieve and to know the laws of the nature in Taoism. Accordingly, one must be humble and must be content because human being is just a part of the whole universe or natural world. In this respect by knowing and acting in accordance with the laws of nature is living and acting with Tao, the Way for human being. For Lao Tzu, right action for human being is to do with wu-wei (not over doing). The literal meanings of the term wu-wei are less activities (doing less) or avoiding artificiality (restricting one's activities to what is necessary and natural). Thus, one should follow the concept of wu-wei in order to live with Tao for keeping up the harmonious co-existence between human society and nature. In conformity with Tao, human being must avoid having too much desire and too much knowledge. It means that human being must avoid any extreme actions. Therefore, one should be in harmony with the fundamental laws of the universe and not against it. This is the basic principle of Taoism. In Taoism, the goal of a human being is to know and to act the Way by which one comes to be in harmony with nature. It is a moral virtue which should be the aim of human beings. Generally, in the Eastern tradition such as Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism, the moral conduct of human being is not limited to relation among human beings, but also suggested for the relation between human beings and natural environment. Therefore, a study of these relations could provide some appropriate answers to today s environmental issues. Human beings today are facing with several environmental issues in addition to other social problems. In the early age of history there may not have been such problems because the population was not as large as today and the environment in which they lived provided the basic needs of the human beings adequately. Today's exploding world population has led to over-exploiting of natural resources which have led to environmental degradation and the extinction of many animal species there may be many other causes of environmental degradations, but the essential cause may be a rapid population growth. Therefore, ecological-minded persons are attempting to change the current life style of consumerism and exploitation of the natural resources by introducing an environmental ethics as a guide. That ethics must not be theoretical but an applied ethics based on ecocentrism rather than ego-centrism. Then, what is the real cause of exploitation on the nature? In fact, the real cause is not only the development of sciences and technologies but the greed of human beings'

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 75 based on ego-centrism. Hence, moral-minded persons warn against such exploitation of nature and give a new way to care for and preserve the environment by the method of self-control and self- sacrifice. Accordingly, there is a need for changing the attitudes of human beings from egocentrism to eco-centrism. This paper aims to show that the concept of Non-egoistic tendency may be applied to bring forth social harmony and reciprocal relationship between human society and natural environment. In this paper descriptive method, evaluative method and reflective method will be used for achievement of the aim of research. Non-egoistic Tendency in Western Philosophy In search of the concept of the Non-egoistic tendency in Western philosophy it needs to be noted that the term egoism is always found accompanied with the term altruism. Non-egoistic tendency as a special usage in this paper is defined as the proportional synthesis of the view of egoism and altruism. Thus the term Non-egoistic tendency is different from egoism, as well as from altruism. Ethics involves decisions between already-established possibility and already available reasons when those already-established factors are considered. Ethical egoism is frequently enquired into in the field of moral theory. But the concept of Non-egoistic attitude is very hard to discuss as a moral theory because most philosophers accept the opposite trend of two extreme views, namely egoism and altruism in their discussions. In Western tradition, the dichotomy between acting out of own self-interest and acting for the benefit of others has been marked by the terms egoism and altruism in general. At this point, there is the question as to whether the ethical tendency which is able to achieve a compromise between the egoistic attitude and an altruistic attitude namely Non-egoistic Tendency found in Western philosophy. In philosophy, egoism is the theory that one s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one s own action. In Western philosophy there are various kinds of egoism, namely psychological egoism, descriptive egoism, rational egoism, ethical egoism, normative egoism and conditional egoism. In this paper, ethical egoism will be discussed.

76 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 Ethical egoism is the normative theory that the promotion of one s own good is in accordance with morality. In the strong version, it is held that it is always moral to promote one s own good. In the weak version, it is said that although it is always moral to promote one s own good, it is not necessarily moral. That is, there are conditions in which the avoidance of personal interest may be a moral action. Ethical egoism is generally classified into three forms: The first form is concerned with the Individual. Everyone should or ought to act in self-interest. The second form is concerned with Personal. I thought to act in my own self-interest; I make no claims about what others ought to do. The third form is concerned with the Universal. Everyone ought to act in his or her own self-interest. Individual ethical egoism is closer to the term selfishness. It demands that everyone should act in personals interest, which obviously excludes the interest of everyone else. It is totally self-centered. It is extremely individualistic and subjective because it does not apply to more than one person, at least not in its essence. Personal ethical egoism is more moderate than the individual form, because the former allows others to follow what ethical system they want and does not demand that they act in only one person s interest. Universal ethical egoism applies to all human beings as most other ethical theories do. Therefore it is the most commonly presented version. This form of egoism states that everyone ought to act in his or her own self-interest, but give all a high degree of freedom, individuality, and equally. Psychological egoism is the view that human motivation is essentially selfish. This means that people are basically self-centered, out for themselves, and never really concerned about the other fellow. All society, asserted the greatest egoist philosopher Thomas Hobbes, is either for gain, or for glory, that is of our selves. In the Western tradition, hedonism assumes that happiness usually accompanies the good life. But a good life is not followed by happiness. The functional theory means the Good life is a successful living. People prize creative work of any kind, invention, exploration, and adventure. People prize the artistic creation and the exercise of the faculty of appreciation. The highest good is found in the normal activity of the highest powers.

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 77 In contrast to egoism, altruism is the ethical doctrine that one must emphasize the good of another over one s good. Benevolence, compassion, and humanity were not major virtues for the ancient philosophers. But modern moral philosophers generally agree that altruism is important to morality, although they disagree about what it is, how to explain it, and what its scope should be. The nineteenth-century French theorist Comte, who first coined the term altruism, claimed that the way to end social conflict is by training people to "live for others," rather than themselves. In a popular sense, altruism means something like noble selfsacrifice. A more minimal understanding, one that many philosophers favor, is an acknowledgment that the interests of others make claims on us and limit what we may do. Altruism is unselfish concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness and there are some general definitions of Altruism which are given by some philosophers. They are; 1. Loving others as oneself 2. Behaviour that promotes the universal chances of others at a cost to one s own and 3. Self-sacrifice for the benefit of others However, altruism should be distinguished from the feelings of loyalty and duty. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good action without reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual, a specific organization. Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty, while others may not. Pure altruism is giving without looking for reward or the benefits of recognition and need. The concept altruism has also become more recently a topic for evolutionary sociology, evolutionary biology, and ethnology. Therefore, ideas from one field can have an impact on the other fields. But there are different methods and focal points that lead to different perspectives on altruism. Nevertheless, altruism can be defined that one's actions ought to further the interests or good of other people and one s action must not be in one's own interests. For that reason, altruism is distinguished from ethical

78 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 egoism, according to which one's actions ought to further one's own interests. Altruism, in practice, is the performance of duties to others without any sort of personal gain for one's efforts. If one performs an act beneficial to others with a view to gaining affection, respect, reputation, or any form of gratitude or remuneration then it is not an altruistic act. It is in fact a selfish act because the principal motivation was to reap some benefit for oneself. The desire of this benefit exists equally each form of desirable benefit whether it is psychological, emotional, intellectual, or material each form of desirable benefit is philosophically identical as a motivation. In altruism, the ideal moral conduct is decided by the rightminded man: the virtuous man is the standard and measure of things. The highest good for man, then, is self-realization. Thus, one have realizes to his true self by means of one s rational ability. The virtuous man will act often in the interest of his friends and of his country, and if need be, will even die for them. He will surrender money, honour, and all the goods. Man is a social being and willing to live with other. To sum up, the Non-egoistic attitude can be found in several ethical theories of Western tradition. Especially it can be found in the ethical views obviously. The idea of Non-egoistic attitude can be found in some Western philosophies different from that of Taoists conception. Both are the same in emphasizing in on the relation of individual and society but the Taoists lay down a unique method of avoiding two extremes of egoism and altruism which is called wu-wei (not over doing). The Role of Non-egoistic Tendency in Environmental Ethics Taoism is one of the main Chinese trends of thought. Taoism is more than just a philosophy. It is one of the bases of Chinese culture and religion. It has been continuously guiding the Chinese culture in behavior and governance. Chinese philosophy is generally categorized as humanism. But it thought of man is not only as being the centre of the universe like other humanism; but as being a part of the whole universe. Thus in Chinese tradition the individual is considered as an element or a part in the whole universe. Accordingly the Chinese are taught to merge the self into the environment as a whole or there is no self at all.

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 79 As the guidance of human conduct, Tao means the way (the path) or moral truth. In Taoism the concept of wu-wei means not over doing. It does not mean taking no action that is contrary to nature. The usual interpretations of wu-wei as non-interference and passively yielding view not-acting as a kind of action. One must do what one needs to do and must not do what one does not need. In other word, one must not to do unnecessary things. Thus, it means not over doing. It seems its appearance is static, but it is active with thinking, planning, making ready in one s inner part which is dynamic or changeable. The well known Taoists theory of wu-wei can be deduced from the general theory of Tao. It can be translated as not acting willfully, acting naturally, or non-assertive activity. Some scholars define the meaning of wu-wei as acting without artificiality and arbitrariness. Lao Tzu promotes the theory of wu-wei (not over doing). Wu- wei means to avoid all extreme activities to do which follows the Way of nature. Actually, it means to engage in lesser activity or doing less that is to act truly by means of true understanding of the Way. It asserts that too much activity become harmful, instead of good. Since literally the term means not doing or non action. Its real meaning is that avoiding any extreme activities by restricting one s activities to what is necessary and natural. Necessary means only essential to the result of a certain purpose and never overdoing. In Taoism, activities which is more than necessary for achieving one s aim becomes harmful rather than good. The purpose of doing something is to have something done. But if there is over-doing it results in something being over-done, that is may be worse than not having the thing done at all. In a Chinese story namely Drawing First. One of the drawers, having indeed finished his drawing, saw that the other man was still far behind, so decided to improve it by adding feet to his snake. There upon the other man said: You have lost the competition, for a snake has no feet. This is an illustration of over-doing which defeats its own purpose. In the Lao-tzu we read: Conquering the world is invariably due to doing nothing; by doing something one cannot conquer the world. At this point the actual meaning of the term doing nothing indicates the conceptual suggestion of not overdoing. In this respect, it can be reinterpreted the Taoist concept of wu-wei to that artificiality and arbitrariness are the opposite of naturalness

80 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 and spontaneity. Here, the illustrative example of metaphorical statement of Chuang Tzu is noteworthy. He said that The duck s legs are short, but if we try to lengthen, the duck will feel pain. The crane s legs are long but if we try to shorter, the crane will feel grief. As above mentioned, the conceptual suggestion of Wu-wei is avoiding overdoing or unnecessary things. For that reason, it is clear that this concept can support the conservation of the balance of ecological world in its superficial meaning. However its conceptual significance can also be extended to the guidance for controlling man s desire and promoting the attitude of contentment. Thus this attitude can be extended in the mutual relationship between human being and his natural environment. For that reason, the Taoists method of wu-wei can be considered as one of the important guidance to resolve the above several problems which are human beings confront into this global age. The basic principle of Taoism is that one should be in harmony with the laws of nature or the process of the whole universe. It is a theoretical conception for human beings to follow and its applied guidance is wu-wei. For practicing this guidance it should be noted that wu-wei does not mean to waste time or to delay time to do but to avoid over doing without necessities. It means that man must choose the proper time, place and conditions to do by his intelligence. Man must not do before its proper time falls. Attempting or endeavoring before the right time comes is one extreme; it is a kind of wasting energies. But delaying or wasting time to act even when the proper time falls is another extreme; it is a kind of delusion or doubt and out of alert. To avoid those extremes a man must act as a good goal keeper. A goal keeper is always alert and he is neither always standing nor moving but waiting but and preparing the conditions to challenge when, where and how goal ball comes into goal area. So also a man must do like the way of wu-wei. He must be mindful to challenge the obstacles of life and use the opportunities which offer him to overcome them and to get successes. But attempting before right time is an empty and, no fruitfulness will be enjoyed. So also delaying time to do even when its proper conditions fall is a loss of good chances. Nowadays, the earth came into being for man and other living beings including wild life. At present, the world has been degraded for hundreds of years. Its wild life species have been devastated and its ecosystem upset. If the world on which who a human and other living

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 81 beings is ruined then, all of life forms will cease to be. Man responsibility to save the world or the planet earth and all who live on it will be completely devastated. The present condition of earth is declining in every aspect, because of man s greed to consume its valuable resources. So, man is responsible for repairing and restoring the degradation of the earth. How can man manage to restore the earth s terrible condition? As science developed, man has used up its valuable resources to create luxury goods. Greed and desire are emotional states which cure. The only way to stop the escalating desire for luxury goods is by controlling. The idea or view that one must take what can be got and the conception that the world cannot be exhausted resources should be discarded. In other words there should be a code of ethics to control man s attitudes and behaviour with respect to Nature. Ethics is concerned with the study of human conduct. Ordinarily, ethics and morality are used interchangeably. Environmental ethics is an applied ethics that examines the moral basis of environmental responsibility. In recent times, everyone becomes to agree that all people should be environmentally responsible for environmental conservation and sustainable development of natural world as well as human culture. Therefore, ethical theory is needed to resolve the several environmental issues and it often concerned with international action. Important as ethical theory is, contemporary problems call for more than theory if they are to be solved, and for more than personal reorientation or commitment too. Solution will need to be considered solution; and often international action and policies are involved. Both theory and practice needs values outside of human subjects, while environmental ethics is more biologically objective and not anthropocentric. It also challenges the separation of science and ethics, and tries to reform a science that finds nature value free and ethics that assumes that only humans count morally. Environmental ethics tries to escape relativism in ethics, and to discover centuries of hard science and humanist ethics that there is little compassion for animals. Human beings have confronted with the diverse problems in different areas of social, political, economic, through the history of human culture. Nowadays human beings are facing with a new crucial problem namely, the environmental problems in addition to the problems of human affairs. One primary cause is the rapid increase of population. Today s

82 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 exploding world population threatens with extinction an ailing environment. Though there may be many causes which give rise to environmental degradation the essential cause may be rapid population growth. More pollution is generated, more habitats are destroyed and more natural resources are used up. So, ecological-minded persons are attempting to change current life style of consumerism and exploitation of the natural resources by introducing and suggesting the environmental ethics as guidance. It should be noted that environmental ethics must not be theoretical but an applied ethics which is based on eco-centrism than egocentrism. Then, the questions what is the real cause of exploitation of nature? Is it the development of sciences and technologies? The answer is that human beings over-greed based on egoism is the main culprit in the current crises. Hence, the moral-minded persons suggest that such exploitation of nature give a way to caring and preserving the environment by the method of self-control and self-sacrifice. The Taoists use the term Tao to stand for the totality of all things, equivalent to what some Western philosophers have called the absolute. It is a basic principle of Taoism that one should be in harmony with, not in rebellion against, the fundamental laws of the universe. The Taoist seek to become one with the nature. The above arguments of the East and West are concerned with the problems of relation between human beings and his natural environment. Therefore, the basic idea of environmental ethics can be found in the Eastern as well as Western traditions. Besides the Taoism of Chinese tradition, preserving the natural environments and ecosystem have been advocated as the basic idea of human ethics in other Eastern traditions. In Hinduism, the principle of the sanctity of life is deeply fixed and love of the flora is very explicit. According to it, only God had sovereignty and God creates all. So, the people s paying respect of His created things shows their love of God. Under Hinduism, people must avoid destroying the living beings and non-living things; all must be in their proper order of God. Here the noteworthy statement of Mahatma Gandhi is the best suggestion for all human beings. Gandhi said that Nature have enough for everybody s needs but not for everybody s greed. Like other conceptual contributions to promote the attitude of environmental conservation and ethical conscience of human responsibility to Nature, there are precious conceptions in Buddhist philosophy to

Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 83 preserve or protect the living beings and the natural phenomena in ethical sense. For example the Four Cardinal values and the Five precepts are fundamental moral guidance to respect all forms of life are also considered as the significant conceptions of preserving nature. Conclusion The basic principle of Taoism is that one should be in harmony with the laws of nature. Taoists use the term Tao to stand for the totality of all things, equivalent to what some Western philosophers have called the absolute. The Tao represents the ultimate reality, which cannot be described, but which is the origin of all things. For Taoists life is lived well only when man is completely in turn with the whole universe. Man should not change what is natural into something that is artificial. Thus, Taoists advocate a free development of one's proper nature and the importance of ecological balance for sustainable development of nature. In the history of culture, accordingly to the development of sciences and technology human beings change the natural phenomena for human s needs and utilities. The natural environments are destroyed and changed for human social welfares. Accordingly, the rain forests of the world are destroyed and the natural resources are extremely used up and become to be depleted. As the result, the world of today is threatened by the problem of ecological imbalance which occurs the several natural disasters. The problems facing the environment are vast and diverse. Destruction of the world's rain forests, global warming, and their depletion of the ozone layer are the current issues human beings have to face. The planet Earth which is mankind's home has been devastated, their wild lives are depleting and ecological system is out of balance. To find out the appropriate solution for preserving the natural environment that can be accepted into all countries becomes to the responsibility of human being. Sustaining the world ecological balance, human beings have to take overall responsibility. Because most environmental problems are the consequences of human's extreme egoism, greed and ignorance. However, there is in need of a consensus of opinion on resolving these environmental issues. To find out the appropriate approach for it, a deep mutual respect and understanding needs to develop among all countries or cultures. For

84 Universities Research Journal 2011, Vol. 4. No. 7 that reason, all human beings have to control their extremes of self-centered attitude and cultivate the attitude of reverence for others in which either human being or other living creatures in nature are included. In this respect, the naturalistic or eco-centered attitude of Taoism is more appropriate rather than the anthropocentric or ego-centered attitude of Western philosophy finding out a way of avoiding extreme egoism. Here the Taoist concepts of Non-egoistic tendency or the method of wu-wei is very noteworthy as a basic concept to avoid extreme egoism. Wu-wei means avoid 'overdoing' or unnecessary things. By means of the method of wu-wei, it can be deduced the common understanding in human relationship. Then this attitude can be extended in the mutual relationship between human being and his natural environment. Therefore the method of wu-wei can be considered as one of the important approaches to resolving the above several problems which are human beings confront into this global age. Nevertheless, individual person and society, egoism and altruism are interrelated each other. In the everyday actions of human beings and their social relationship, the harmonious balance of merit and demerit of individual and other members of his society depends on the right or wide attitude of avoiding the two extremes, egoism and altruism. Thus, human beings must moderate and synthesize both extreme attitudes in their actions. However, in order to practice the Non-egoistic tendency as the moral conception, there is in need of the concrete way or method which can be accepted as the common way among all societies. In this respect, it can be said that wu-wei of Taoism is also important like the way of avoiding extremes known as the Middle Way in some philosophies of the East and West. References Chu Chi & Winberg Chai. (1961). The Story of Chinese Philosophy. New York: Washington Square Press. Dhammananda, K.Sri.(1989). How to Live Without Fear &Worry. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Publication of the Buddhist Missionary Society. Fung Yu-Lan(.1966). A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. New York: A Division of Macmillan Publishing Lao Tzu (Chu Ta-Kao(trans.).(1960). Tao Te Ching. London: Published for the Buddhist Society by Gorge Allen & Unicon Ltd Michael, Page.(1988). The Tao of Power. London: Green prints an imprint of the Merlin press.