Ethics, Philosophy and the Environment (original) (raw)
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Philosophy and the Environmental Task
Environmental Ethics, 1998
Although the particular ethical consequences of biocentrism can be defended at a logical level, the centrality of problems with valuational frameworks in biocentric ethics leads to ontological ambiguities which contribute to the broader problematic of modem metaphysics. I suggest, however, that this may actually help to thematize the relationship between the metaphysical foundations of environmentalism and its social task. Mysticism and phenomenology, including the concept of the "ecological self," attempt to settle these ambiguities in a dialectical opposition to the technological world view behind the environmental crisis. Whatever ontological stability they achieve, however, is at the expense of being assimilated by the same kind of metaphysical totalization characterizing technological thinking. Unlike anthropocentrism and the stewardship model of environmentalism, nevertheless, these difficulties for biocentrism lead to positive results: the ambiguities in the search for philosophy stability and foundational certainty can act as a cue to the non-metaphysical task of analyzing and resisting technological power. The result may be a "negative ethics," but one that holds out the possibility of confronting the real power relations of technological culture (and the use of ethics within them), rather than pursuing the endless project of discovering the hidden source of value and meaning.
Environmental Philosophy as a Way of Life
Environmental philosophy is a promising branch of philosophy to renew the ancient tradition of philosophy as a way of life. I contend that to practice philosophy as a way of life involves both some conception of the good life and an array of spiritual exercises that assists one in living according to that conception. I then offer an argument for why this tradition of philosophy is worth reviving at the present time. The second half of the paper is devoted to exploring the prospects for a distinctively environmental approach to philosophy as a way of life. Give its emphasis on environmental virtue and its rich resources for developing spiritual exercises, I argue that environmental philosophy as a way of life is both a robust and attractive option.
Cuadernos de Bioética, 2016
While environmental ethics has successfully established itself in philosophy, as presently conceived it is still largely irrelevant to grappling the global ecological crisis because, as Alasdair MacIntyre has argued, ethical philosophy itself is in grave disorder. MacIntyre's historically oriented recovery of virtue ethics is defended , but it is argued that even MacIntyre was too constrained by received assumptions to overcome this disorder. As he himself realized, his ideas need to be integrated and defended through philosophical anthropology. However, it is suggested that current defenders of philosophical anthropology have not done it justice. To appreciate its importance it is necessary accept that we are cultural beings in which the core of culture is the conception of what are humans. This is presupposed not only in thought but in social practices and forms of life. This was understood by Aristotle, but modernity has been straightjacketed by the Seventeenth Century scientific revolution and Hobbes' philosophical anthropology, identifying knowledge and with techno-science and eliminating any place for questioning this conception of humans. The only conception of humanity that could successfully challenge and replace Hobbes' philosophical anthropology, it is argued, is Hegel's philosophical anthropology reformulated and developed on naturalistic foundations. This involves subordinating science to a reconceived humanities with a fundamentally different role accorded to ethics, placing it at the center of social life, politics and economics and at the centre of the struggle to transform culture and society to create an ecologically sustainable civilization. RESUMEN: Mientras que la ética ambiental ha consolidado su presencia en la filosofía, tal como está concebida todavía es en gran medida irrelevante para lidiar la crisis ecológica global, porque, como argumentó Alasdair MacIntyre, la ética en sí está en grave desorden. Se defiende la recuperación de orientación histórica de MacIntyre de ética de la virtud, pero al mismo tiempo se argumenta que incluso MacIntyre fue demasiado limitado para conjeturar de superar este trastorno. Como él mismo cuenta, sus ideas deben ser integradas y defendidas a través de la antropología filosófica. Sin embargo, se sostiene que los defensores actuales de la antropología filosófica no le han todavía hecho justicia. Para apreciar su importancia, es necesario aceptar que somos seres culturales, y el núcleo de la cultura es la concepción que tenemos de la humanidad. Esto se presupone no sólo en el pensamiento, sino también en las prácticas sociales y en las formas de vida. Esto fue entendido por Aristóteles, pero la modernidad ha sido “encarcelada” por la revolución científica del siglo XVII y por la antropología filosófica de Hobbes, por la identificación del conocimiento con la tecnociencia y por la eliminación de cualquier lugar para cuestionar esta concepción de ser humano. Se sostiene que la única concepción de humanidad que podría desafiar y reemplazar la antropología filosófica de Hobbes con éxito es la antropología filosófica de Hegel, reformulada y desarrollada sobre bases naturalistas. Esto implica subordinar la ciencia a una nueva concepción de las humanidades, con un papel fundamentalmente diferente otorgado a la ética, colocándola en el centro de la vida social, política y económica y en el centro de la lucha por transformar la cultura y la sociedad, con el fin de crear una civilización ecológicamente sostenible.
Philosophical Foundations of Ecological Civilization: A Manifesto for the Future
2016
The global ecological crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever had to confront, and humanity is failing. The triumph of the neo-liberal agenda, together with a debauched ‘scientism’, has reduced nature and people to nothing but raw materials, instruments and consumers to be efficiently managed in a global market dominated by corporate managers, media moguls and technocrats. The arts and the humanities have been devalued, genuine science has been crippled, and the quest for autonomy and democracy undermined. The resultant trajectory towards global ecological destruction appears inexorable, and neither governments nor environmental movements have significantly altered this, or indeed, seem able to. The Philosophical Foundations of Ecological Civilization is a wide-ranging and scholarly analysis of this failure. This book reframes the dynamics of the debate beyond the discourses of economics, politics and techno-science. Reviving natural philosophy to align science with the humanities, it offers the categories required to reform our modes of existence and our institutions so that we augment, rather than undermine, the life of the ecosystems of which we are part. From this philosophical foundation, the author puts forth a manifesto for transforming our culture into one which could provide an effective global environmental movement and provide the foundations for a global ecological civilization.
Philosophy and the Challenge of the Environmental Crisis
Kemanusiaan, 2024
The environmental crisis is an extremely complex problem for its causes are many and diverse. An effective solution to this crisis will require a concerted effort among various academic disciplines and socioeconomic institutions. This kind of undertaking, however, is immensely challenging given the lack of a unifying framework that is acceptable to everyone. One preliminary step is to have a clear conception of the kinds of causes that have brought about the crisis to determine the roles the various academic disciplines and socioeconomic institutions can play in the management and eventually the resolution of the crisis. This article provides one conception of how this preliminary step can be done but with a special focus on the role of philosophy. The main objective is to clarify the aspect in the management of the crisis in which philosophy can make a substantial contribution.
Ecological challenges to ethics
Polonia Sacra, 2016
This article is an attempt to shed new light on the environmental challenges of ethics related to over ‑exploitation of the world by humanity. This article aims to formulate guidelines for the project of new ethics that will be able to respond to these challenges, to appreciate the intrinsic value of the world without diminishing the value of human being. The starting point of the analysis is the increase of ecological awareness, observable both among scientists and politicians as well as among citizens and the Church. In the next part of the article, contemporary ecological ethics are compared with traditional anthropocentric ethics. The paper presents the diagnosis of the reasons for the exploitation of nature resulting with ecological crisis and offers a method of overcoming the crisis. It argues in favour of anthropocentrism, but rejects its radical version. In the last part of the paper there is a proposal to create a new ethics, appropriate for us and the world, which would be an extension and refinement of Christian ethics in dialogue with contemporary secular trends.