Environmental Ethics: Shannie A. Taduran Pshs - BRC

ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS
SHANNIE A. TADURAN
PSHS - BRC
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

HOW DOES ETHICS DIFFER FROM MORALS
AND VALUES?
The term values, morals and ethics

are often used interchangeably.
However, there are some
distinctions between these terms
that are helpful to make

VALUES
Signify what is important and worthwhile.
They serve as the basis for moral codes and
ethical reflections.
• All individuals have their own values based on

many aspects, including:
Family - race
Religion - social background
Peers - gender, etc
Culture
VALUES
Values guide individuals, professions,

communities and institutions
• One expressions of values might be that
• “Life is Sacred”
• “Education is the most important gift a
parent could give to their children”

MORALS
Codes of conduct governing behaviour
• They are an expression of values reflected in
actions and practices
• Morals can be held at an individual or
communal level
• Example: “ One should not kill” provides a
guideline for action based upon values

ETHICS
 Provides a systematic, rational way to work
through dilemmas and to determine the best
course of action in the face of conflicting choices.
• Ethics attempts to find and describe what
people believe is right and wrong, and to
establish whether certain actions are actually
right or wrong based on all the information
available.
• Example: “If killing is wrong, can one justify the
death penalty or kill in self-defense?

How we treat the environment is a function of
How we view the environment.
How we view the environment is a function of:
Culture – which influences our

thinking through:
• Knowledge
• Beliefs
• Values
• Learned ways of life
shared by
a group of people

How we treat the environment is a function of
How we view the environment.
How we view the environment is a function of:
Worldview – person’s or group’s beliefs about the meaning,

purpose, operation and essence of the world.
• Knowledge
• Beliefs
• Values
• Learned ways of life shared by a
group of people

One’s Worldview is influenced by:
• Environmental ethics
• Classical economics and the environment
• Economic growth and sustainability
• Environmental and ecological economics
• Religion

What then is
ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS?

Environmental Ethics
• Ethics is the study of good and bad, right

and wrong.
• Ethical Standards – criteria that help

differentiate right from wrong.
• Environmental Ethics - the study of

ethical questions regarding human
interactions with the environment

Culture and worldview affect perception of the
environment and environmental problems.
• People with different Worldviews and Cultures may

have different values and hence, their actions toward the
environment may differ.
• There are two possible types of ethicists:

 Relativists - Ethics should and do vary with social
context.
 Universalists - Objective notions of right and wrong
exist across all cultures and situations.
Some questions in environmental ethics
Should the present Are humans justified
generation conserve in driving other
resources for future species to
generations? extinction?
Is is OK to destroy a Is it OK for some

forest to create jobs for communities to be
people? exposed to more
pollution than others?
The answers depend, in part, upon the ethical

standard you choose to use.
Early environmental ethics
• The roots of environmental ethics are ancient.
• The modern urge for environmental protection

grew with problems spawned by the
industrial revolution.

Early Environmental Organizations in the 19th
Century Great Britain
• Scottish Rights of Way Society (1843)

o Protects walking paths in and near cities
• Commons Preservation Society (1865)
o Preserve forests and other landscapes

Early Environmental Organizations in the 19th
Century Great Britain
• Society for the Protection of the Ancient Buildings

(1877)
o Protect the built environment, especially historic
buildings
• Coal Smoke Abatment Society (1898)
o Improve Urban Air Quality

“According to the Public Trust Doctrine, the public owns
common or shared environments—air, waters, dunes,
tidelands, underwater lands, fisheries, shellfish beds, parks
and commons, and migratory species. . . . These things
‘are so particularly the gifts of nature’s bounty that they
ought to be reserved for the whole of the populace.’
(Joseph L. Sax, 1970).”

"The people have a right to clean air, pure water and to the
preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of
the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the
common property of all the people, including generations yet to
come.”
Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution

Environmental Organizations in the Philippines
Source: www.spot.ph
• Save Philippine Seas (www.savephilippineseas.org)

o founded in 2011 and registered in 2013, aims to protect the
country's threatened marine resources
• Greenpeace Philippines (www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph)

o Greenpeace Philippines is part of a global environment
organization spanning 40 countries.
o Some of their strategies in protecting and conserving the
environment include exposing threats to our surroundings
such as coal projects, holding public debates and peaceful
protests on climate justice, and promotion of ecological
farming

• Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines

(mwwphilippines.org)
o When it comes to marine biodiversity, the Philippines is at
the "center of the center." We have various species of
dolphins, whales, dugong, marine turtles, sharks, and rays;
and if we do not do our best to save our waters, this wildlife
might just all go extinct.
o Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines has the mission
of fostering a better appreciation of the marine environment
through information dissemination, campaigns, and
research.
o You can help protect our sea friends by reporting illegal
trading and capture of protected marine wildlife through
their Facebook page.
• Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society (

www.facebook.com/PNPCSI)
o The Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society is

devoted to the conservation of indigenous Philippine plants
and their natural habitats.
o They hold annual symposia, organize tree planting

activities, and initiate research in plant biodiversity.
o They are a member of the Rain Forest Restoration Initiative

which focuses on rehabilitating degraded landscapes and
negotiating with forest-dependent communities to come up
with other sources of livelihood.
• Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation

(pbcfi.org.ph)
o The protection of the country's wildlife is the main advocacy
of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
o So far, they have zoomed in on West Visayas, Calamian

Islands, Cebu, Mindoro, and Polillo Islands where they
hold field research, habitat restoration, and educate the
locals.
o They also have conservation programs for specific species

like the bleeding-heart pigeon, cloud rats, Philippine bats,
and Calamian deer, among others.
• Haribon Foundation (www.haribon.org.ph)

o Haribon Foundation, founded in 1972, focuses on
biodiversity conservation.
o It was named after the Haring Ibon or the Philippine Eagle

because of the idea that the bird's presence reveals a lot
about the state of our forests.

• Waves for Water (www.wavesforwater.org)

o Waves for Water is more of a humanitarian organization
than an environmental advocacy, but that does not mean it
forgets to promote environment conversation.
o It provides clean water to communities in need around the

world through its Courier Program of distributing water
filters to travelers.
o Their philosophy is rooted in "doing what you love and

helping along the way," so if you're a hiker out to conquer
the Himalayas, you can get a supply of water filters and
bring these to an impoverished community along your trail.
• Earth Island Institute (www.earthislandph.org)

o Earth Island Institute Philippines is part of an
international organization that supports hyperlocal and
grassroots environmentalism.
o The Philippines chapter focuses on monitoring the biggest

tuna companies in the region and ensures that these
operations are sustainable, campaigning against dolphin
captivity; and restoring the Freedom Island Bird Sanctuary
in Las Piñas and Parañaque through the Save Freedom
Island Movement.

• Wild Bird Club of the Philippines

(www.birdwatch.ph)
o More than an interest or hobby organization, the Wild Bird
Club of the Philippines also promotes wildlife conservation
through protecting the birds' habitats and recording
information on the species.
o They petition against bird hunting, advocate preservation of

mangroves and lagoons near the reclamation area along
Roxas Boulevard, and document rare sightings of
endangered bird species.

• Worldwide Fund for Nature - Philippines

(www.wwf.org.ph)
o World Wide Fund for Nature (a.k.a. WWF) is the world's
largest conservation organization and operates in over 100
countries, the Philippines being one of them.
o Their specific mission in the country is to reverse the fast

degradation of our environment by promoting the use of
sustainable energy, initiating projects for sustainable
fisheries near the Coral Triangle, and protecting the
country's most endangered species such as the whale sharks
in Donsol and the tamaraw in Mindoro.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS:
It is a philosophical discipline that

considers the moral and ethical
relationship of human beings to the
environment;
What is the value of the environment?
What moral responsibility do we have?
Which needs should be given the highest priority in
our decision making?

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS:
Environmental ethics helps define man's moral and

ethical obligations toward the environment.
But human values become a factor when looking at
environmental ethics. Human values are the things
that are important to individuals that they then use to
evaluate actions or events.

ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES
Deontology (Greek word Deon, meaning “Duty”)

• Deontological ethics or Duty-based Ethics
• Deontological (duty-based) ethics are concerned with
what people do, not with the consequences of their
actions.

Deontological ethics
• Do the right thing.
• Do it because it's the right thing to do.
• Don't do wrong things.
• Avoid them because they are wrong.

Deontological ethics’ moral rules:
• It is wrong to kill innocent people

• It is wrong to steal
• It is wrong to tell lies
• It is right to keep promises
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1.shtml
Teleology (Greek word Telos, meaning “Goal” or “End”)
• describes an ethical perspective that contends the

rightness or wrongness of action is based solely on the
goodness or badness of their consequences.
• In a strict teleological interpretation, actions are morally
neutral when considered apart from their consequences

Teleological Ethics
• Consequentialist
• Concerned with the end or consequences of
an action; also known as consequentialism

THEORIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS
• DEEP ECOLOGY
• ECO-HOLISM
• SHALLOW ECOLOGY

Theories of Environmental Ethics:
• DEEP ECOLOGY
• Intrinsic value of the natural world; both
plant and animal

Theories of Environmental Ethics: Deep Ecology
• Deep ecology Writers:

• Aldo Leopold (1949),
• Arne Naess (1973),
• George Sessions (1983).
• Ecosophy
• “By an ecosophy I mean a philosophy of
ecological harmony and balance” (Naess, 1973)

• “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the

integrity, stability, and beauty of the bionic
community” (Leopold, 1949)
• bios = Greek for life

MAIN POINTS
• Ethics must discuss human relations to land,

animals and plants.
• Richness, diversity of world intrinsic goods,
Every living thing (including plants) have a right
to flourish (Naess, 1973).
• Nature does not exist to serve humans.

Theories of Environmental Ethics: ECO-HOLISM
• ECO-HOLISM
• Eco-holism world is
like one
interconnected body
• (Gaia = earth
goddess)
Theories of Environmental Ethics: Echo-Holism
• Eco-holism Writers: James Lovelock (1979)
• Gaia hypothesis:
“Earth is sustained by a self-regulating living
system, like a body Gaia, the goddess of the earth,
establishes and maintains this system”
• “Self-regulation”

Theories of Environmental Ethics: Eco- Holism
MAIN POINTS
• Life can never be destroyed
• Gaia shall find new ways of restoring balance
• Humans may destroy themselves, but earth will go on
without them
• The earth is a unified, holistic system, but we are just a
part of this
• In his later work, Lovelock argues Gaia may herself destroy
everything, thus altering his earlier view

Theories of Environmental Ethics: Shallow Ecology
• SHALLOW ECOLOGY
“ Environment is means to human survival,
so needs be conserved”

Theories of Environmental Ethics: Shallow Ecology
• SHALLOW ECOLOGY
• Underlies Kyoto Protocol (1997) Environment is
means for human
• Flourishing Environment has utility, so must be
preserved
• Animals and plants have instrumental value alone
• Species die: this is part of a natural cycle

Theories of Environmental Ethics: Shallow
MAIN POINTS
• Peter Singer’s version of shallow ecology
• Interests of all sentient (feeling) beings should be
included in utilitarian calculation.
• Plants (etc) have no intrinsic moral worth. There may be
a case for preserving wilderness, rainforest (etc) but only
if human welfare is maximized by this.
• Rather than being just human-centered, he is sentient-
being centered

ENVIRONMENTAL
IDEOLOGIES/PHILOSOPHIES
(‘CENTRISMS’)
• Anthrophocentrism
• Sentientism
• Biocentrism
• Holism
Anthropocentrism
• Anthropocentrism can refer
to the point of view that
humans are the only, or
primary, holders of moral
standing.
• Anthropocentric value
systems thus see nature in
terms of its value to humans;

Anthropocentrism
• Protects and promotes human interests or well-being

at the expense of all other factors
• Often places an emphasis on short-term benefits

while disregarding long-term consequences

Ethical Positions
• Sentio-centrism: Sentient-
being centered morality
• All and only sentient beings
(animals that feel pain) have
intrinsic value and moral
standing.
• The rest of the natural world
has instrumental value.
• Both humans and sentient
animals have rights and/or
interests that must be
considered

Ethical Positions
• Biocentric Individualism: Life-

centered morality
• All and only living beings, specifically
individual organisms (not species or
ecosystems) have intrinsic value and moral
standing.
• Humans are not superior to other life
forms nor privileged, and must respect the
inherent worth of every organism
• Humans should minimize harm and
interference with nature:

Ethical Positions
Eco-centric Holism: ecosystem

centered morality
• Non-individuals (the earth as an
interconnected ecosystem, species, natural
processes) have moral standing or intrinsic
value and are deserving of respect.
• Individuals must be concerned about the
whole community of life/nature,
• Humans should strive to preserve ecological
balance and stability.

Patriarchal Dualisms
• Greek, Roman, Hebrew:

• Humans are separate from
and superior to nature
• Human, mind, rationality, and man
are linked and superior
• Nature, body, feelings, and woman
are linked, and inferior
• Justifies domination by men over
• Nature
• Women
Aristotle
Ecofeminism
• Rejects Patriarchal Dualisms
• The domination of nature by men

is wrong
is similar to and related to the
domination of women by men.
• Must break the pattern of "power

over" relationships
will benefit both women and the
natural world.
Acid attack victims

Bioregionalism
• Lead a simple life with local

production of food and other
products by people that you know
• Increases environmental
awareness and caring
• decreases exploitation of the
environment and people.

Other views

PRAGMATIC RESOURCE CONSERVATION
• Advocated by Pres. Theodore

Roosevelt
• Conservationists believe that the
environment should be used in a
planned way to benefit everyone
• The correct policy will create the
greatest good for the greatest
number, for the longest time.

MORAL AND AESTHETIC NATURE PRESERVATION
• Advocated by John Muir, first

president of the Sierra Club
• Preservationists believe that
nature deserves to exist for its
own sake regardless of degree of
usefulness to humans.
Image Source: https://bit.ly/3nmsIgV


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ENVIRONMENTAL

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

The term values, morals and ethics

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• All individuals have their own values based on

Values guide individuals, professions,

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Culture – which influences our

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

How we view the environment is a function of:

Worldview – person’s or group’s beliefs about the meaning,

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Ethics is the study of good and bad, right

• Ethical Standards – criteria that help

• Environmental Ethics - the study of

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• People with different Worldviews and Cultures may

• There are two possible types of ethicists:

Is is OK to destroy a Is it OK for some

The answers depend, in part, upon the ethical

• The roots of environmental ethics are ancient.

• The modern urge for environmental protection

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Scottish Rights of Way Society (1843)

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Society for the Protection of the Ancient Buildings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Save Philippine Seas (www.savephilippineseas.org)

• Greenpeace Philippines (www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph)

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines

• Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society (

o The Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society is

o They hold annual symposia, organize tree planting

o They are a member of the Rain Forest Restoration Initiative

• Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation

o So far, they have zoomed in on West Visayas, Calamian

o They also have conservation programs for specific species

• Haribon Foundation (www.haribon.org.ph)

o It was named after the Haring Ibon or the Philippine Eagle

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Waves for Water (www.wavesforwater.org)

o It provides clean water to communities in need around the

o Their philosophy is rooted in "doing what you love and

• Earth Island Institute (www.earthislandph.org)

o The Philippines chapter focuses on monitoring the biggest

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Wild Bird Club of the Philippines

o They petition against bird hunting, advocate preservation of

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

• Worldwide Fund for Nature - Philippines

o Their specific mission in the country is to reverse the fast