Ecological Perspectives

1. Ecological Perspectives

2. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES • Biocentric • “bios” – life, “centric”- center • The essay "The Ethics of Respect for Nature" by Paul W. Taylor argues for an environmental ethic known as Biocentrism • Biocentrism - a system of ethics that attempts to protect all life in nature • Biocentrism, all life - not just human life - should be protected for the organism's sake

3. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES • Taylor strongly holds that humans cannot let selfish desire get in the way of moral decisions about the environment. • Biocentrism works under the assumption that all life is interdependent. For example, if the deer population are over-hunted then the coyote and wolf will be affected as well.

4. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Four main components: • Humans are thought of as members of the Earth’s community of life, holding that membership on the same terms apply to all non-human members (i.e. humans share the same value as all other living beings). • The Earth’s natural ecosystem as a totality are seen as a complex web of interconnected elements

5. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Four main components: 3. Each individual organism is conceived of as a teleological center of life, pursuing its own good in its own way 4. The idea that humans are superior to other species is a groundless claim, and must be rejected as an irrational bias

6. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecocentric Ethics B. Ecocentric Ethics • any ethics or philosophy that places an emphasis on ecological wholes and moves away from individual plants and animals; value is placed on these ecological systems as wholes • early version of ecocentric ethics is Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic"

7. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecocentric Ethics B. Ecocentric Ethics • ecocentric ethics and philosophies are holistic ethics, rather than individualistic. The holism can be "metaphysical"--the whole exists, apart from or as really as its parts (Callicott’s belief that ecosystems create individuals.) Or "epistemological"—the whole is the chief way to understand the parts. Then there is moral holism—the system should be considered morally, independently of the individuals in that system.

8. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecocentric Ethics B. Ecocentric Ethics • an ecocentric ethics appeals to ecology in one way or another for help in explaining and defending its conclusions. • Ecologists, like botanists and zoologists, focus more on interdependencies and relationships than on individual organisms. Ecology emphasizes such wholes as species, biotic diversity, ecological communities, ecosystems, and biological, chemical, and geological cycles.

9. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecocentric Ethics B. Ecocentric Ethics • problems this appeal faces are (1) the lack of complete agreement among ecologists about proper scientific methods, models, and conclusions; and (2) the difficulty of actually drawing any ethical conclusions from scientific observations

10. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Deep Ecology C. Deep Ecology • “deep ecology”, was developed by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss • For deep ecology, an essential point is that man must be understood as a subject whose existence and identity are quintessentially constituted by nature or the surrounding world

11. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Deep Ecology C. Deep Ecology • man can only realize himself and prosper if he treats nature respectfully by allowing the natural processes to play out largely in keeping with their own objectives and logic

12. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecofeminism C. Ecofeminism • Ecofeminism describes movements and philosophies that link feminism with ecology • Ecofeminism connects the exploitation and domination of women with that of the environment, and argues that there is a connection between women and nature.

13. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecofeminism C. Ecofeminism • Ecofeminists believe that this connection is illustrated through the traditionally 'female' values of reciprocity, nurturing and cooperation, which are present both among women and in nature • Additionally, ecofeminists draw connections between menstruation and moon cycles, childbirth and creation etc.

14. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Ecofeminism C. Ecofeminism • Women and nature are also united through their shared history of oppression by a patriarchal Western society

15. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Social Ecology C. Social Ecology • a critical social theory founded by Green author and activist Murray Bookchin • Conceptualized as a critique of current social, political, and anti-ecological trends, it espouses a reconstructive, ecological, communitarian, and ethical approach to society

16. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Social Ecology C. Social Ecology • advocates a reconstructive and transformative outlook on social and environmental issues, and promotes a directly democratic, confederalpolitics • As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy, toward a world that reharmonizes human communities with the natural world, while celebrating diversity, creativity and freedom

17. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: Social Ecology C. Social Ecology • Social ecology suggests that the roots of current ecological and social problems can be traced to hierarchical modes of social organization • The complexity of relationships between people and nature is emphasized, along with the importance of establishing more mutualistic social structures that take account of this