The Human

Person in their
Environment
Prepared by: Ms. Carbelyn M. Barte, LPT
◉ What is the significance of the criterion of
moral consideration in environmental
ethics?
◉ What are the different and contrasting
approaches in philosophy? What are the
pressing environmental issues that should
be given attention?
◉ What can we do to mitigate these
problems?
Approaches to
Environmental
Ethics
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◉ Why is there now a need for everyone to seriously
consider taking care of the environment?
◉ In the preservation, conservation, and restoration
of the environment, do humans have to be given
priority over all the other inhabitants of our planet?
Why?
◉ Could people live in a healthy environment if there
are no other living creatures around? Explain your
answer?
◉ How does “respect for nature”come into play in
an anthropocentric view of things?
Environmental
Ethics
Environmental Ethics is the discipline in Philosophy that
studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and
also the value and moral status of, the environment and
its non-human contents (Stanford Encylopedia of
Philosophy, n.d).

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Include the process of of attributing moral consideration
not only to human beings but to non-humans as well.

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 Land Ethic
Giving importance to land as an
entity that should be given due
respect and love.

Aldo Leopold
American Conservationist and Forester 8
Thus, an action is right and therefore, moral, when it has
the tendency to preserve the integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic community; and wrong when it
does the opposite which is destruction.

Bryan Norton
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
philosophy and environmental policy
Environmental Problems and
Future Generations (Article)
1. Dealt wisely using resoources
together with protection of
natural monuments or protected
areas
2. Dealt with the destruction of
natural environments and
pollution
3. Deal with the possibility of
cataclysms
10 or catastrophes
With Environmental Ethics, morality
extends to non-human world

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 Attribution to Moral
Consideration and their
Corresponding Approaches
INTRINSIC VALUE
Inherent worth in itself
It is valuable or good for its own sake

INSTRUMENTAL VALUE
Used to achieve a certain end
Means toward achieving a certain end

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 The wide-ranging issues and debates on
environmental ethics on the correct thing to do
regarding preservation, conservation, or restoration
have to deal with the attribution of moral
consideration.

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FOUR LEVELS OF ATTRIBUTION OF MORAL
CONSIDERATION:
1. Anthropocentrism
2. Panthocentrism
3. Biocentrism
4. Holism

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Anthropocentrism
◉ Focuses on the significant role of humankind in the
world and considers nature as the means by which
humans are able to meet their needs and survive.

◉ This view believes that humans are the most

important species on the planet and they are free
to transform nature and use its resources.
Anthropocentrism
◉ only humans are assigned intrinsic value
◉ considers human beings as the center of the moral
consideration
Panthocentrism
◉ Extends intrinsic value and thus moral
consideration to higher forms of animals or
intelligent animals such as dogs and chimpanzees
who are sentient.

◉ SENTIENT means having the power of perception

by the senses; concious
◉ Sentient beings therefore have the capacity to
feel pain, and thus, suffering
Biocentrism
◉ Believes that humans are not the only significant
species on the planet, and that all other organisms
have inherent value and should be protected.

◉ This view advocates ethical treatment of animals

◉ Intrinsic value is assigned to living things
Holism/Ecocentrism
◉ Regards ecosystem as holistic entities that should
be given moral consideration

◉ ECOSYSTEM is a community of living organisms in

conjunction with the nonliving components of their
environment interacting as a system.