Environmental Ethics

Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world. It exerts influence on a large range of disciplines including law, sociology, theology, economics, ecology and geography. There are many ethical decisions that human beings make with respect to the environment. For example: Should we continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human consumption?, Should we continue to propagate?, Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?, What environmental obligations do we need to keep for future generations?, Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species for the convenience of humanity?The academic field of environmental ethics grew up in response to the work of scientists such as Rachel Carson and events such as the first Earth Day in 1970, when environmentalists started urging philosophers to consider the philosophical aspects of environmental problems.... Mehr