EnviroEthics_Test1

8/13/2019 EnviroEthics_Test1

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ological amplification(also called "biomagnification")increase in concentration of a substance that occurs in a food chain

consequence of: persistence (can't be broken down by environmental processes), food chain energetics, low (or nonexist

rate of internal degradation/excretion of the substance (often due to water-insolubility)

poxialow oxygen conditions often due to pollution from runoff causing phytoplankton blooms

lent Spring"1962, book by Rachel Carson which focused on the deadly effects of DDT and other chemical pesticides. It ha

profound influence on the publics attitudes concerning chemical pollution and environmental protection. Long-term

environmental consequences.

thropocentricthe position that human beings are the central or most significant species (more so than animal species), or

assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective

thropocentric environmental ethicsoften root cause of environmental problems created by human interaction

listic environmental ethicsecocentricplaces intrinsic value on all living organisms and their natural environment regard

their perceived usefulness or importance to human beings; ecosystems must be treated as possessing moral significance

their own right; Aldo Leopold

an Air Act1963; designed to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EP

develop and enforce regulations to protect the public from airborne contaminants known to be hazardous to human hea

an Water Act1972; primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution; established the goals of eliminati

releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring thasurface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983.

dangered Species Act1973; designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of econom

growth and development un-tempered by adequate concern and conservation."

rinsic valuethe ethical or philosophic value that an object has "in itself" or "for its own sake", as an intrinsic property.

iversal ethical egoismthe normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest; cont

with ethical altruism, which holds that moral agents have an obligation to help others

hical relativismthe belief that nothing is objectively right or wrong and that the definition of right or wrong depends on th

prevailing view of a particular individual, culture, or historical period.

tural law(teleology)a system of law that is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law

to the use of reason to analyze human natureboth social and personaland deduce binding rules of moral behavior fro

litarianism(preference utilitarianism)a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one tha

maximizes utility, specifically defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. Preference utilitarianismis one of

most popular forms of utilitarianism in contemporary philosophy; promotes actions that fulfill the interests (preferences)

those beings involved.

ophic pyramida graphical representation designed to show the biomass or biomass productivity at each trophic level in a

ecosystem; begin with producers on the bottom (such as plants) and proceed through the various trophic levels (such as

herbivores that eat plants, then carnivores that eat herbivores, then carnivores that eat those carnivores, and so on). Thehighest level is the top of the food chain.

emesan idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cul

ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, ritual

other imitable phenomena.

nter-gatherersobtain most or all food from wild plants and animals; displaced by agricultural societies that rely mainly on

domesticated species

ricultural revolutiontransition from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture in history

dustrial revolutiontransition to new manufacturing processes that occurred in the period from about 1760 to sometime

between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical


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manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power an

development of machine tools. The transition also included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal. Average in

and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth.

newable/nonrenewable resourceA renewable resourceis a natural resource which can replenish with the passage of tim

either through biological reproduction or other naturally recurring processes. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's n

environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. A non-renewable resourceis a natural resource which cannot

reproduced, grown, generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate; once depleted there will be no

available for future use.

omsayerspeople who predict disaster, calamity at every opportunity; see the worst in human impact on the environment

rnucopiansfuturist who believe that continued progress and provision of material items for mankind can be met by simila

continued advances in technology. Fundamentally they believe that there is enough matter and energy on the Earth to p

for the ever-rising population of the world.

althusianopposing cornucopians

plied ethicsthe philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are

matters of moral judgment. It is thus the attempts to use philosophical methods to identify the morally correct course of

in various fields of human life.

tch Hetchyreservoir located within Yosemite National Park; After a years-long battle to preserve the Valley, led by John M

the dam was approved under the administration of Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Primary purpose is to supply drinking wate

electric power to the San Francisco Bay Area.

ford Pinchotvs John Muir(basic disagreement)conservationist vs. preservationist

nservationistview vs. preservationistviewConservationistswanted to save the environment for human purposes. They

mainly interested in economics. Preservationistswere more philosophical and believed in saving the environment partial

its own sake, and so that people could enjoy nature into the future.

aissez-faire"(in economics)an economic environment in which transactions between private parties are free from tariffs,

government subsidies, and enforced monopolies, with only enough government regulations sufficient to protect property

rights against theft and aggression.

in controversies surrounding US Forest Serviceappropriate management of resources include grazing, timber, mining,

recreation, wildlife habitat, and wilderness.

sic views of Baden and Stroupproperty rights and natural resource management; government is unable to manage resou

effectively; market relies on private property rights to hold each person responsible for his actions.

cording to DesJardins, what drives the decisions of most policy analysts, government officials and the private sector?

Economicsespecially conservation

cording to DesJardins, why was Pinchot actually very environmentally progressive for his time?

He believed in a scientific approach to environmental resource management that is used today.

am Smithecocentric; ability of man to make moral judgments; theory of sympathyact of observing others makes people

aware of themselves and the morality of their own behavior

ruisman ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, if necessary,

sacrifice of self-interest.

ciobiologya field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and

attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context.

ciprocal altruistsa behavior whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing an

organism's fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar manner at a later time.


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agedy of the Commons1968 by Garrett Hardin; the depletion of a shared resource by individuals, acting independently an

rationally according to each one's self-interest, despite their understanding that depleting the common resource is contra

the group's long-term best interests.

ro sum gamea mathematical representation of a situation in which a participant's gain (or loss) of utility is exactly balance

the losses (or gains) of the utility of the other participant(s). If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the tot

losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero. Strictly competitive.

n-zero sum gamedescribes a situation in which the interacting parties' aggregate gains and losses are either less than or

than zero. Competitive or non-competitive.

bert WrightHow cooperation (eventually) trumps conflictzero-sum game

tional Choice Theory

1. Humans are purposive and goal oriented.2. Humans have sets of hierarchically ordered preferences, or utilities.3. In choosing lines of behavior, humans make rational calculations with respect to:

a. the utility of alternative lines of conduct with reference to the preference hierarchyb. the costs of each alternative in terms of utilities foregonec. the best way to maximize utility.

4. Emergent social phenomena -- social structures, collective decisions, and collective behavior -- are ultimately the resurational choices made by utility-maximizing individuals.5. Emergent social phenomena that arise from rational choices constitute a set of parameters for subsequent rational chof individuals in the sense that they determine:

a. the distribution of resources among individualsb. the distribution of opportunities for various lines of behaviorc. the distribution and nature of norms and obligations in a situation.

hat is William Baxter's main argument? (Based on "People or Penguins") Explain why his views would be considered

thropocentric.

He values individual freedom so long as one persons actions do not interfere with the interest of other human beings

Waste is bad and many resources are employed so as to yield less than they might yield in human satisfactions are wa

He assumes that human beings are the source of all value and environmental policies ought to be people oriented.

hat is Baxter's solution to pollution and environmental problems in general?

Economic analysis and methodology offer diagnosis of environmental ills and each case offers a particularly economic

prescription to cure them. A society that follows the principles of the free market will successfully meet all its environm

challenges.

sed on the views of environmental economists O'Toole and Baker, what 3 reasons justify that the free market is an ethical w

proach environmental management?

1. Market utilitarianism is thought to promote individual freedom2. The commitment to the value of private property rights3. Consistent with certain philosophical assumptions about human nature

cording to environmental and natural resource economists such as O'Toole, Baxter and Stroup, why does self-interest win o

er altruism in environmental decisions and policy making?

The fundamental economic assumption tells us that peoples decisions are strongly influenced by the incentives affect

the decision makers and that if we change the incentives, the decisions change. The fundamental assumption about h

nature is human beings act primarily on the basis of self-interest. Self-interest is then understood in the classic utilitari

sense of maximizing our own satisfactions, or utilities. Altruism, or acting for the best interests of others, would requ

that human nature be rewired.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/68http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/68http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/68http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/68


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tural resource and environmental economists (specifically, those that follow a "free market environmentalist" philosophy) a

st-benefit analysis to environmental decisions. According to DesJardins, why might this be problematic? (covered in 3.6 and

lude Sagoff's arguments against economic analysis applied to environmental decisions and policy).

It directs us to determine whether a given end is worth pursuing in light of its costs. It is far from clear that all our valu

goals can be, or should be, expressed in economic terms. Cost-benefit analysis is usually totally anthropocentric. One a

involves the attempt to quantify qualitative goods. A second is the resulting tendency to translate qualitative goods in

categories that can be measured. Another involves the tendency to artificially restrict the range of relevant subjects. S

argues that much economic analysis rests upon a serious confusion between wants or preferences, on one hand, and b

and values on the other. Markets cannot measure or quantify our beliefs and values. By ignoring the distinction betwe

wants and beliefs, market analysis threatens our democratic political process by treating us as consumers instead of ci

om 10.3 Explain John Locke's "state of nature."

plain Locke's concept of private property. What are three problems with the Lockean ideal of private property rights?

Unowned land becomes owned when an individual mixes his labor with the unowned land. People have exclusive rig

over their bodies and their labor. Land is unowned and no one individual can rightfully claim exclusive control of it.

1. It is vague. Why assume mixing makes it owned instead of what we owned becoming unowned.2. It ignores native people who had been using land when settlers took it over.3. Ownership can only be justified when it does not violate the liberty of other people. It implies this will not happen

because of sufficient land.

hat is the "bundle-view" of private property and what are some problematic issues with it?

Private property involves a bundle of rights to possess, control, use, benefit from, dispose of, and exclude others from

property. By viewing property rights as a bundle of rights, a property right no longer can be seen as an all-or-nothing t

e Market Environmentalism Definitions:

Richard Stroup~Bart Frazier~Tony Smith: The Case Against Free Market Environmentalism~Jan Narveson: The Case For Free

rket Environmentalism

trumental value(extrinsic value)the value of objects, both physical objects and abstract objects, not as ends-in-themselv

t as means of achieving something else.

hy is instrumental value an effective political strategy? Why does DesJardins think it may be unsustainable?

Public opinion is often most responsive to claims of lost opportunities, wasted resources, and the like. As human inter

d needs change, so too would human uses for the environment.

ocentric ethicsany theory that views all life as possessing intrinsic value (life centered)

ntify the four central beliefs of the biocentric outlook.

1. World-and-life-affirmationgoodness of life is connected with the goodness of nature2. reverence for life there is a good in nature that could help provide a basis for human ethics3.

I am life which wills to live, in the midst of life which wills to live.

all living things have intrinsic value

4. Human-nature relationshipefly, identify Paul Taylor's 4 duties to nature:

Nonmaleficedncedo not harm any organism

Noninterferencedo not interfere with the freedom of individual organisms or with ecosystems or biotic communities

Fidelityrespect for nature requires we do not deceive or betray wild animals

Restitutive justicehumans who harm other living organisms must make restitution to those organisms

n page 142) What are some of DesJardin's main criticisms of Taylor? (2 main ones)
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FreeMarketEnvironmentalism.htmlhttp://www.fff.org/comment/com0303c.asphttp://www.springerlink.com/content/p076j21971q22343/http://www.springerlink.com/content/y026386681523787/http://www.springerlink.com/content/y026386681523787/http://www.springerlink.com/content/y026386681523787/http://www.springerlink.com/content/y026386681523787/http://www.springerlink.com/content/p076j21971q22343/http://www.fff.org/comment/com0303c.asphttp://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FreeMarketEnvironmentalism.html


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1. To say that we ought not interfere with nature implies humans are separate from nature2. Inherent worth resides only in individual organisms. We have no direct duty to ecosystems, nonliving objects, or sp

efly, what was the basis of the lawsuit filed by Olson Logging Company against the USFS?

Probably USFS trying to regulate logging that hurt business for the Olson Logging Company.

w does Arne Naess describe Shallow Ecology vs. Deep Ecology?

Shallow ecologyis committed to the fight against pollution and resource depletions. It is an anthropocentric approach

a central objective to protect the health and affluence of the people in developed countries. IMMEDIATE EFFECTS and

changes

Deep ecology takes a relational perspective, rejecting the anthropocentric man-in-environment image in favor of a mo

holistic and nonanthropocentric approach. Very philosophical. We need to undergo big changes to solve things.

om section 9.2, describe Deep Ecology based on Naess and Session's platform (based on the 8 principles.)

1. Life has intrinsic value and is independent of worth to humans2. Richness and diversity of life is value itself and contribute to flourishing of life3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness or diversity except to satisfy vital needs4. Present human interference is excessive and getting worse5. Flourishing of life requires a decrease of human life6. Change in life requires change in policies7. Appreciate life quality instead of adhering to a high standard of living8. Those who follow these have an obligation to directly do so and implement changes

hy is it difficult to offer precise criticisms of Deep Ecology?

It is way too general, referring to no specific and systematic philosophy.

hy can Deep Ecology be labeled as "misanthropic"? How does Fox counter this?

Because it says humans are no better than other living thinks and are the cause of great environmental malevolence. F

points out that deep ecologists criticize not humans per se but rather human-centeredness because they deny that on

humans have intrinsic value.

hat is Guha's criticism of Deep Ecology?

Deep ecology is uniquely an American ideology and would have disastrous consequences in other parts of the world.

ia Hypothesisorganisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a self-regulating, complex system tha

ntributes to maintaining the conditions for life on the planet. Earth is resilient.

hat is an extremophile? Why do you think Wilson goes into so much detail on them?

An organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth.

ue or false? The discovery of a new species is a rare event. Explain by true or false and give some examples that support you

swer. FALSE

w is your own body proof of Earth's biodiversity?

There are a lot of microorganisms all over an individuals body.

ophilialove of life; instinctive bond between humans and living systems

ase Theoremas long as well-defined property rights exist there will be no breakdown in allocation of resources

ocentricpreservation of ecosystem as a whole

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EnviroEthics_Test1