Environmental Ethics: Understanding Moral Obligations Towards Nature, Slides of Biology

Download Environmental Ethics: Understanding Moral Obligations Towards Nature and more Slides Biology in PDF only on Docsity! A Fast Introduction to Environmental Ethics Today’s reading had… 1 2 3 26% 2%72% 1. A page that was too blurry to read 2. A missing page 3. A page of advertising in the middle Singer criticizes economists specifically for… 1 2 3 35% 35%29% 1. Discounting the future 2. Ignoring aesthetic values 3. Anthropocentrism (human-centered- ness) The Landscape Developing Ethical Frameworks Identifying Values Constructing Arguments Ethics Ethical Reasoning Ethical reasoning is the means by which moral agents determine morally acceptable actions giving due consideration to all those deserving of moral concern. We ask: (1) What should we do? (2) Why should it be done? (justification) (3) How should it be done? (policy) Salmon Species of the Pacific Northwest 1. What? Salmon extinction should be prevented. 2. Why? Because extinction of any species is undesirable. 3. How? Pull down dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Docsity.com Salmon Species of the Pacific Northwest 1. What? Salmon extinction should be prevented. 2. Why? Because extinction of any species is undesirable. Why? Because…? 3. How? Pull down dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Salmon Species of the Pacific Northwest 1. What? Salmon extinction should be prevented. 2. Why? Because extinction of any species is undesirable. Why? Because…? 3. How? Pull down dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. But pulling down dams is undesirable too! Salmon Species of the Pacific Northwest Revised reasoning 1. What? Salmon extinction should be prevented. 2. Why? Extinction is undesirable and should not be allowed unless prevention will cause other more significant harms. 3. How? Develop technology for “fish ladders” to mitigate the effects of the dams. Different sorts of claims • Empirical claims – describe states of affairs in the world – can be true or false – To know whether a given claim is true or false, we need to know certain things about the world. • Normative claims – describe what ought or ought not to be the case or what ought or ought not to be done – concern values Values • Intrinsic The intrinsic value of something is the value it has solely in virtue of its intrinsic nature. • Instrumental Something has instrumental value if and only if it is a means to something that is intrinsically valuable. Values • Intrinsic The intrinsic value of something is the value it has solely in virtue of its intrinsic nature. • Instrumental Something has instrumental value if and only if it is a means to something that is intrinsically valuable. substitutes Docsity.com