Environmental ethics

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

NTU "KPI"

Report

On the topic: “Environmental ethics”

Performed:

student BEM 35b

Ruchka Katia

Checked:

Malikov Vasyl

Kharkiv 2019

Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………3

1. The emergence of environmental ethics……………………………………..4

2. The concept and basic principles of environmental ethics………………….5

3. Problems of environmental ethics……………………………………………7

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………9

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….10

Introduction

Today, concepts such as the natural environment and environmental movement, ecology and the environmental crisis, respect for nature, respect for natural life, from the vocabulary of a narrow circle of specialists are firmly included in everyday language. The objective reasons for the actualization of the problem are clear and legitimate, but its open and pathos character is to a large extent given by the moral problems of our relationship with nature: do we have the right to invade it, when and how we want, and should there be boundaries to this intervention; Do we have the right to use it, subjecting our own plans and projects, to manipulate it at our own discretion, or should we set our own boundaries and strictly observe them?

The purpose of this essay is to study the concept of environmental ethics and its principles, as well as to identify problems and find ways to solve them.

1. The emergence of environmental ethics

In the 21st century, the question of the relationship between man and nature has become particularly acute. Too striking were such vital indicators for the future existence of the planet, such as the state of the ozone layer, the temperature of ocean water, the rate of melting ice, the mass extinction of animals, birds, fish and insects. In the minds of humane and civilized people began to emerge the idea of ​​the need for such a thing as environmental justice, and introducing it to the masses. If this mission is carried out on a global scale, then this can permanently change the consumer attitude of people towards nature into partnership ones.

When in the 70s of the last century the ecological crisis only began to mature, scientists in the West reacted to it by creating such a scientific discipline as environmental ethics. The main reason for the emergence of problems in ecology, according to experts such as D. Pierce, D. Kozlovsky, J. Tinbergen and others, is the departure at some stage in the development of life on the planet in the complete absence of the connection between man and nature. If at the beginning of its path, humanity perceived nature as a manifestation of divine power, on which the life of civilization directly depends, then as science and industry developed, the admiration for the wisdom and harmony of this world was replaced by a thirst for profit. That is why the organizers came to the conclusion that it is impossible to consider existing problems in isolation from the study of the moral and ethical norms of man. Only by rooting in people the realization that they are not the crowns of nature, but its small biological and energetic part, can harmonious relationships be established between them. This is exactly what scientific discipline such as environmental ethics is doing. The promotion of its values ​​in the consciousness of most people can qualitatively change life on the planet.

Maybe this is another confirmation of the fact that everything in the history of the Earth is cyclical, and the knowledge that modern man possesses was already known to the disappeared civilizations, but scientists are again returning to the origins of ancient wisdom. The philosophers who lived several thousand years ago knew that the Cosmos, all living and non-living things on the planet, the visible and the invisible, constitutes a single energy system. For example, this wisdom was characteristic of ancient Indian teachings. At that time, the world was not dual, that is, divided into nature and man, but constituted a single whole. At the same time, people collaborated with him, studied and were well versed in various natural phenomena. The theory of the biosphere and no sphere developed by Vernadsky was based precisely on the fact that the Cosmos, nature and animals are in harmonious interaction with man with full respect for each other’s life. These principles formed the basis of a new ethic. It also takes into account the teachings of Schweitzer about the worship of man before all living things and his responsibility for maintaining balance and harmony in the universe. Environmental ethics and moral principles of people should be united and focused on the desire to be, not to have. For this to happen, humanity should abandon the ideology of consumption.

2. The concept and basic principles of environmental ethics

Environmental ethics is a universal ethics of human activity, which pays great attention to the eternal ideological problem: what is the meaning of human existence in the Universe and the Universe - in man.

The subject of eco-ethics is the relation of Man to Nature, suggesting his relation to himself.

The main task of environmental ethics is to protect the relationship between man and nature. The theoretical range of ethics duties includes such moral norms as:

1) make it clear what the norms are;

2) make it clear why moral responsibility must be respected;

3) to show what will happen if you do not follow the low rules. If you look at people in the twentieth century, we can see that humankind has made a huge step forward when, finally, all people received the same right to freedom and independent, independent life, regardless of their nationality or skin color.

Basic principles of environmental ethics

In the UNESCO document “Environmental ethics”, the general principles of environmental ethics include:

The principle of respect for all forms of life

The principle of respect for all forms of life affirms the value of every living being: “every form of life must be respected regardless of its usefulness to humans”, “every organism, and human or not, having the capacity to sense or not, safe for humans or dangerous, is good myself.

Principle of biodiversity

The principle of biodiversity affirms the value of biodiversity and the need to preserve it.

The principle of maintaining the stability of the biosphere