What is environmental ethics all about?
It considers the moral relationship humans have with the environment and other animals and asks key questions in relation to this.
What are the two Christian environmentalist approaches?
- Stewardship- god has given humanity the task of looking after the world. 2. Conservation- humanity should protect natural resources and the environment and maintain them for the future.
What is dominion?
In genesis, humans were created by god as the pinnacle of creation, the animals were brought to Adam to be named, showing his power over them. Humans alone were made in god’s image and they alone represent him on earth “let us make man in our image…let them have dominion over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the heavens.”
How was science seen during the Renaissance and enlightenment?
As a philosophy of dominion, science and technology could bring benefits to society as a whole, Francis Bacon argued that nature was a slave to be controlled by science.
How does the Bible support stewardship?
God saw his creation as “good”, implying that what he created has value beyond what it can offer humans, dominion is responsible stewardship.
How else does Christianity support stewardship?
There is a long history of care for the environment amongst Saints, St. Francis of Assisi thought that as nature was god’s creation, being close to nature was being close to god. His attitude to the world was Christocentric and he took god’s appearance in nature as a sign that humans should care for nature as a whole.
Give three modern ethical implications of stewardship
- The evangelical church has the evangelical environmental network which advocates creation care, caring for god’s creation and stopping damage to it. 2. The Church of England says that god entrusted the world to us and we have a responsibility to care for it. 3. The Catholic Church says that as we were made in the image of god, we have a similar role to play, just as he cares for the universe, we must care for the world.
Give four facts explaining conservation
- It is an approach taken by many Christians because of the central idea of stewardship. 2. It is the protection of natural resources from the dangers of climate change and various human activities and encompasses how we should use resources responsibly. 3. Conservation is necessary to protect future generations of both humans and animals . 4. It is the act of creating circumstances necessary to preserve and protect ecosystems.
How did Lynn Townsend white attack the Christian approach?
In ‘the historical roots of our ecological crisis’ he said that Christianity was to blame for the crisis as it asserts man’s dominance over nature and advocates anthropocentrism. He suggests that Christian guilt over this should push Christians change their worldview and adapt to the current crisis.
Give three points supporting the idea that not all Christian denominations support environmentalism
- Early Christians put eschatological beliefs before all else, life on earth was temporary and the end of the world would lead to resurrection. 2. Some evangelical Christians belief that real life starts in heaven, the old world will be replaced with a new one, so there is no need to protect it, the current crisis is a sign that the end is nigh. 3. Some argue that the earth is temporary, so can be used for profitable purposes.
What is the Cornwall alliance?
Founded by Ronald Nash, the group is a critic of environmentalism, they criticize the ideological link between evangelical churches and ‘extremist’ groups such as Greenpeace.
Give three things argued for by the Cornwall alliance
- Stewardship is a god given duty to be responsible for the natural world, but environmentalism is in the wrong. 2. Policies to fight global warming are a waste of money and stop poor countries from using the fossils fuels they need to rise out of poverty. 3. Leaders should implement policies which defend the rights/liberties of people and make energy more affordable.
What is the Cornwall alliance particularly critical of?
The ‘radical’ idea that all living beings have intrinsic value. It blames the influence of deep ecology on Christian environmentalism- the view that nature is created by god and we have responsibilities as stewards. Nature is not god and the view that god is everywhere in nature is a form of pantheism which Nash sees as fundamentally unchristian.
What is Arne Naess’ deep ecology?
A secular position which argues that nature has intrinsic value regardless of its utility to humans. All beings should be allowed to flourish naturally and environmentalism should not just be about conservation, but about a consideration of the worth of nature and ecosystems which we have a moral obligation to protect.
What 5 things did Naess argue for?
- Drastically reducing the earth’s population. 2. Abandoning all goals of economic growth. 3. Living in small, self reliant communities. 4. Conserve diversity of species. 5. Minimize our impact on the environment.
What is the ecosophy?
The idea that our approach to the environment must move away from an anthropocentric worldview toward a more holistic one which values the intrinsic worth of nature, shallow ecology is necessary but insufficient.
List two criticisms of deep ecology
- Nash- it leads to pantheism. 2. Weston- the main focus of environmentalism should be technical solutions to environmental change, he criticizes the focus on universal principle and instead thinks institutions and practices need to change from the bottom up.
What is shallow ecology?
It mainly focuses on conservation, valuing the environment but not giving it intrinsic worth, the world merely has value as the means to an end.
Give three things that would be supported by shallow ecology
- Sustaining biodiversity as plants provide medicines. 2. Preserving the rainforest as it acts as the earth’s lungs. 3. Preventing the extinction of species that are useful to humans.
What is the problem with shallow ecology?
It ignores the value we give to nature and the environment. People enjoy spending time in nature and admire its beauty- this confirms that we have moral responsibilities toward the natural world as it has worth beyond the uses we ascribe to it.
What is James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis?
Named after the Greek earth goddess, this is the idea that earth is a sustaining and nurturing system. It is a single living entity. Biotic and abiotic life is interdependent and the earth has a self regulating mechanism which provides balance.
In the Gaia hypothesis, there is an internal balance between what 4 things?
- The biosphere. 2. The atmosphere. 3. The hydrosphere. 4. The lithosphere. The inner workings of Gaia can be viewed as the study of the physiology of the earth.
What does lovelock say about CO2 emissions?
- The conditions for life are precisely defined, any fluctuation could be catastrophic (as is currently happening with CO2 emissions, the system can no longer cope and maintain itself in a way that supports human life.) 2. Human life may be wiped out by such changes, but humans are just part of Gaia and she would survive. If we abuse Gaia we risk our very existence.
What does lovelock argue for?
Eco-holism, a focus on the interdependence of the whole ecosystem, he challenges the idea that humans are special and says we should abandon anthropocentrism and instead by biocentric, allowing Gaia to undo the imbalance caused by humans.
