Environmental Ethics - Wilderness, Ecology, and Ethics

What are Ecocentric Ethics?

Ethics Centered Around Ecosystems as a Whole, Gives Consideration to Nonliving Natural Objects

What is the Puritan Model?

Says That Wilderness is Dangerous and Must be Tamed

What is the Lockean Model?

Says That Wilderness Was Given by God and is Waiting for Someone to Come Transform it

What is the Romantic Model?

Says That Wilderness is a Symbol of Innocence and Purity, No Modification is Needed

What is Wilderness?

An Area Where the Earth and its Community of Life are Untouched by Humans

What is the Ancient Judeo Christian View of Wilderness?

That Wilderness is Dangerous

Who are American Transcendentalists?

Thoreau and Emerson - There’s a Deeper Reality We Have to Learn to See, One Which is Transcendent

What is the Raw Material Upon Which Philosophers Work With?

Intuition

What is the Organic Model?

Species are Related to Their Environment the Same Way Organs Relate to the Body

What is the Ecosystem Model?

Grounds Ecology into the Physical Elements, Not Metaphorical Elements

What is the Community Model?

Nature is a Community, Focuses on Interactions Within the Community

What is the Energy Model?

The Ecosystem is an Energy System

What is the Chaos Model?

Ecosystems are Constantly Changing, and the Changes Occur Without Direction

What is the Gaia Hypothesis?

Hypothesizes That the Earth is an Organism, Used to Degrade Human Actions That Degrade the Earth

What is the Naturalistic Fallacy?

Says That “Just Because Something is Natural Doesn’t Mean it’s Good”

What is Holism?

The Unifying Idea for Ecocentric Theories

What is Metaphysical Holism?

Wholes Exist Apart From Their Parts

What is Epistemology Holism?

Finding What is the Best Way to Understand

What is Ethical Holism?

Moral Considerability Should Be Extended to Wholes

Who is Aldo Leopold?

The Most Influential Figure in the Development of a Full Ecocentric Ethic

What is the Land Ethic?

Written by Aldo Leopold. Says “A Thing is Right When it Tends to Preserve the Integrity, Stability, and Beauty of the Biotic Community, it is Wrong When it Tends Otherwise.”

What are Some Problems With Ecocentric Theories?

1. Ecocentric Theories are Never Fully Formed, Because Ecology is Always Changing

2. The Naturalistic Fallacy

3. Not Individualistic Enough

4. Humans aren’t Natural Citizens of the Environment, so We’re Not Obligated to Fix it

Who is Thoreau?

Distinguished the Difference Between Wilderness and Wildness

Who is Emerson?

Was Heavily Influenced by European Romantics