Explore secular ethical perspectives on conservation

Explore secular ethical perspectives on conservation

1. Secular = non-religious

2. Libertarianism (Deep Ecology)

   • All life forms have intrinsic value: they are valuable within themselves, not for their usefulness to humans.
   • Started by Aldo Leopold: "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the bionic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."
     • Leopold says it is wrong to view the world in terms of it's economic value to humans.

3. Arne Næss: Deep Ecologist

   • Nature does not exist to serve humans. He does not believe that humans are more important just because they have a soul.
   • Næss believes that every living being should have equal rights. This is 'Ecosophy' = ecological harmony
   • Arne Næss believed that humans should do the following things in order to have Ecosophy
     • Drastically reduce the human population
     • Abandon all goals of economic growth
     • Conserve the diversity of species
     • Live in small, self-reliant communities
     • "Touch the Earth lightly."

4. James Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis

   • Lovelock argues that the Earth is a biosphere; a complex interacting system.
     • Earth is a self-regulating being,
       • Organisms on Earth interactive with their non-living surroundings in order to maintain the conditions for life on the planet. This is the complex interacting system.
     • Gaia can survive without us, as humans are only one part of the Earth, but we need her. If we abuse Gaia we risk our own survival.
   • Gaia = Greek Goddess of the world
   • Disagreed with the notion of Dominion - that God gave humans authority over the Earth and all it's species.

5. Conservationism (Shallow Ecology)

   • The environment is important due to it's usefulness to humanity. Plants and animals have instrumental value, not intrinsic value; They are valuable because they are useful to humans.
   • Conservationism is an Anthropocentric belief - it is based on the idea that humans are the most important species on the planet. Many philosophers deem this as speciesist (discriminative in favour of one species over others)
   • Michael La Bossiere suggested that the anthropocentric approach is part of the natural order of evolution.
     • He states that if a species becomes extinct naturally as a consequence to human activity, it is acceptable.
   • John Mill claims that humans bring order to a chaotic world. Thus, animals should be treated with dignity as this benefits humans.
   • Conservationism is a Utilitarianist approach. Utilitarianism, coined by Jeremy Bentham, is the notion that something is ethical if it brings the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest amount of people.

6. Immanuel Kant - The Categorical Imperative

   • The Categorical Imperative states that you should act for the sake of duty only.
     • This is a contrast to the Hypothetical Imperative: acting in order to receive some kind of reward.
     • Kant says that the Categorical Imperative is the only good way to act.
       • For example, one should help an elderly person across the road simply because it is the correct thing to do.
         • Feeling good about doing an ethical deed is simply a bonus, according to Kant.
     • Good will is what Kant describes as 'good without qualification'.
     • The Summum Bonum is the highest good that everyone should strive towards. It takes place in the afterlife and is the reward for doing duty for duty's sake.