SUST-332 (Environmental Ethics) Test 04

why do we care about posterity?(Heilbroner)

environmentalist: we have a duty

why should we care about the earth after death, it does not matter more than life before birth?

is there a rational answer?

(Heilbroner)

(Heilbroner) - theres no rational answer because those that do not exist have no rights

should religious convictions/well thought out humanistic concerns have more weight than the logical/rational argument about posterity?

(Heilbroner)

note: contracutlaist/religous/deontologist/utilitarian arguments

the strongest is the consequentialist argument...then religious

critique of rationality/economic rationality

(Hardin)

economic man is based on checks and balances, the economic/rational grounds for convincing someone to pay now rather than later is unlikely...

ex: redwood 2000 yrs..why bother

peasant story

(Hardin)

peasant: necessity

priest: if everyone did it there'd be no trees left

if there was no preist to stop him he would have continued

should we allow special privileges in some countries to certain people?

(Hardin)

Hardin says yes, we should implement institutions that regulate consumption

- special privilege

- modifying existing institutions

thesis

(Parfit)

Q: what is our moral obligation when the numbers are the same on both sides?

Identification Problem (do/don't)

alternatives to thesis

(Parfit)

what does it mean to be you?

- necessity of origins theory

- ego theory

*contingency of origins

traditional point of view?

(Parfit)

[is the traditional pov ego theory?]

CONFIRM IN BOOK

why does he think we are in a special moment?

(McKibben)

[because public health is growing therefor so is our country..we are reaching carrying capacity and earth may level us out soon]

CONFIRM IN BOOK

how does he respond to the charge that he and Paul Ehrlich are pessimistic?

(McKibben)

CONFIRM IN BOOK

what evidence does he bring to the global warming thesis?

(McKibben)

[we are polluting at a higher rate than our slowly replenishing ozone can handle]

population growth can only be solved by mutually agreed upon coercion:

- rewards

- taxes

- paying for parking

- increased gas pricing

CONFIRM IN BOOK

case against helping the poor

(Hardin)

it would lead to misery and this is earth's way of controlling the population...helping them will lead to the ratchet effect

significance of lifeboat metaphor

(Hardin)

- it denies that there is a right to food

- there is a utilitarian duty to not help famine ridden areas (Thomas Malthus~)

duties don't equal responsibility

relationship of population policies and world hunger

(Hardin)

central community banks only hurt the world and contribute to the ratchet effect

ratchet effect

is it immoral to ring aid to overpopulated countries?

(Hardin)

escalator shaped growth of the population with emergency aid being the driving factor

critiques of Hardin

(Murdoch & Oaten)

- the lifeboat metaphor is misleading

- disperity is increased by colonization/capitalism

- enlightened diplomacy

view of population growth

(Murdoch & Oaten)

- agree with tragedy of the commons but reject private ownership and support commnall ownership (fishing in peru)

- corporations should be put in place to regulate limits (whaling)

- the ratchet effect is wrong because of BDT and the stages of population

demographic transition theory

(Murdoch & Oaten)

Benign Demographic Transition toward lower birth rates

effected by:

- increased political security

- literacy rates (higher)

- lower infant mortality

- improved status and education of women

where does evidence between Hardin and them lie?

(Murdoch & Oaten)

Cuba and China decreased their population

- we should attack the causes of overpopulation not the people who experience it

dis analogies between lifeboat and U.S.

we use and benefit from the resources of the poor in the ocean

an octopus would be better because we encourage capitalism