Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability Essay Example
ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY
Chapter 28
BIOSPHERE 2 • Biosphere 2, was designed to be self sustaining life-supporting system for eight people sealed in the facility in 1991. The experiment failed because of a breakdown in its nutrient cycling systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS AND VALUES • Environmental Worldviews include: • How you think the world works. • What you believe your environmental role in the world should be. • What you believe is right and wrong environmental behavior.
INSTRUMENTAL AND INTRINSIC VALUES • Instrumental (utilitarian) • A value something has because of its usefulness to us or to the biosphere • i.e. preserving natural capital and biodiversity • Intrinsic (inherent) • The value something has just because it exists regardless of whether it has any instrumental value to us.
CLASSIFYING WORLDVIEWS • Worldviews are generally divided into two groups: • Holistic (Ecocentric) is earth centered and focuses on sustaining the earth’s • Natural systems (ecosystems) • Life-forms (biodiversity) • Life-support systems (biosphere) • For all species • Atomistic is individual centered • Anthropocentric (human-centered) • Biocentric (life-centered)
ANTHROPOCENTRIC, BIOCENTRIC, AND ECOCENTRIC • Anthropocentric (human-centered) • No-problem school (all problems solved), free-market school (global economy), responsible school (mix of previous 2) • Instrumental values play a larger role. • Biocentric (life-centered) • Human as one with the earth • Aldo Leopold and John Muir • Intrinsic values play a larger role • Ecocentric (earth-centered) • Humans destroy the earth • Emerson, Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Rachel Carson •
Chapter 28
BIOSPHERE 2 • Biosphere 2, was designed to be self sustaining life-supporting system for eight people sealed in the facility in 1991. The experiment failed because of a breakdown in its nutrient cycling systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS AND VALUES • Environmental Worldviews include: • How you think the world works. • What you believe your environmental role in the world should be. • What you believe is right and wrong environmental behavior.
INSTRUMENTAL AND INTRINSIC VALUES • Instrumental (utilitarian) • A value something has because of its usefulness to us or to the biosphere • i.e. preserving natural capital and biodiversity • Intrinsic (inherent) • The value something has just because it exists regardless of whether it has any instrumental value to us.
CLASSIFYING WORLDVIEWS • Worldviews are generally divided into two groups: • Holistic (Ecocentric) is earth centered and focuses on sustaining the earth’s • Natural systems (ecosystems) • Life-forms (biodiversity) • Life-support systems (biosphere) • For all species • Atomistic is individual centered • Anthropocentric (human-centered) • Biocentric (life-centered)
ANTHROPOCENTRIC, BIOCENTRIC, AND ECOCENTRIC • Anthropocentric (human-centered) • No-problem school (all problems solved), free-market school (global economy), responsible school (mix of previous 2) • Instrumental values play a larger role. • Biocentric (life-centered) • Human as one with the earth • Aldo Leopold and John Muir • Intrinsic values play a larger role • Ecocentric (earth-centered) • Humans destroy the earth • Emerson, Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Rachel Carson •