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Summary - Ecophilosophy (FW-WB3930)
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Final summary ecophilosophyLECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION AND ANIMAL ETHICS
INTRODUCTION
Environmental philosophy started around the 60s as environmental pollution and the use of pesticides was rising due
to the increase of population and decrease of farmers after WW2. Carson (in the Silent Spring, 1962) was the first
philosophers that called attention to the ethical problems with the use of pesticides, before only cost effectiveness
was taking into account. His conclusion was that environmental problems came from technological innovations
trying to control nature, and in doing so they caused negative effects.
At this time the environmental problems were:
- Loss of certain species
- Human population growth
- Nuclear waste
- Loss of wild nature
The Anthropocene: the new geological era where humanity becomes a major geological and geobiological factor
on earth. (Paul Cruzan)
The role of philosophy in this process lies within values and decision making, science finds the problems (based on
the values that philosophy determines) and configures the solutions.
In history philosophers have been concerned about nature and its relationship with humans:
- Aristotle: plans exist for animals, and animals exist for man. Humans serve as the center of the world and
the rest will serve us. Aquinas says something similar.
- Bentham: the requirement for moral consideration is not intelligence or capacity for speech/rationality, but
it is the ability to suffer.
Moral standing: claim to be considered in moral deliberations. → if beings have moral standing then you will have
to consider how your actions might effect them.
Morally relevant features: characteristics that provide moral standing
Morally relevant beings: beings who deserve moral consideration/ have moral standing.
MORAL STANDING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: EARLY ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Routley Passmore
The last man thought experiment. This Anthropocentric extensionism: Passmore believed
considered who can be considered to have moral that environmental problems did not necessarily matter
standing. Imagine that you are the last man on earth, because animals and nature have moral standing, but
there is nothing else left of humanity. However nature because destroying the environment has long term
does still exist, you can press a button to destroy the consequences for future generations. The relationship
whole world. Would it be a problem to push the button between human and nature has nothing to do with
and why? moral standing of nature but with human beings.
- If you think that you shouldn’t push the
button for animals, eco-systems, plants etc
than you think those have moral standing. So
this thought experiments justified moral
standing of animals and nature.
Non-anthropocentric extensionism: Routley
believed that the last man shouldn’t press the button
because nature and animals have moral standing. So
, they are more than just functional to human beings, but
they have value in themselves.
Environmental ethics is often presented as a form
of moral extensionism: we start our moral
considerations with humans and expand it to what
other beings have moral standing.
- Anthropomorphism: only human
beings have moral standing.
- Pathocintrism: all beings with the ability
to suffer have moral standing.
- Biocentrism: being alive is enough for
moral standing.
- Holism: existing is enough for moral
standing.
The circle of who should be have moral standing
has expanded over time.
In the next part we will mainly discuss the second
circle: Pathocintrism.
ANIMAL ETHICS: PETER SINGER
Peter Singer (animal liberation, 1975) was one of the first philosophers considering animal ethics.
- Non-anthropocentric extensionism and animals
- Speciecism: a form of discrimination based on species membership. (like sexism and racism)
His argument goes as follows:
1. Basic assumption: all interests should receive equal consideration.
2. Beings and only beings who have the capacity for suffering have interests in a significant way and thus
moral standing.
3. Sentient beings and only sentient beings have the capacity for suffering,
4. (at least some) animals are sentient and thus can suffer,
5. We are required to treat sentient beings, and only sentient beings, with equal moral consideration,
6. We are required to treat animals with equal moral consideration,
7. Utilitarian principle: we ought to maximize the overall good or to produce the greatest good for the greatest
number → decrease suffering,
8. Animals have the capacity to suffer,
9. Treating animals with equal consideration implies reducing their suffering.
For Singer the capacity to suffer/the experience of joy is sentience, which is the precondition for moral
consideration.
For Singer speciesism is discrimination as two beings with the same moral feature (capacity to suffer) are treated
differently, only because they belong to a different species, which is an irrelevant factor. In order not to be speciest,
the difference in treatment should be based on a difference in experience of suffering.
This has several practical implications, effecting:
- Diet
- Farming
- Scientific experimentation
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