Man Must Dominate Nature and the Environment
How shall we deal with the environment? is an ethical question much discussed, but rarely answered with any well-thought-out justifications. Rather, individuals attempting to answer it have often made claims stating that certain things are "obvious." In this paper, I intend to analyze one of these ethical principles which is considered to be inherently obvious. For every culture has regarded certain things as "obvious" and needing no further explanation -- and every culture differs vastly on what it considers to be an "obvious truth." Thus, it seems that these "truths" are not, in themselves, "obvious." Rather, they require further scrutiny to determine their validity. Hence, in this paper I analyze a common environmental claim: "Everything natural has inherent value, and we should respect its right to exist." This paper is not meant to be a complete examination of environmental ethics; that would be beyond its scope. This question, however, lies at the heart of environmental ethics, and is certainly worth exploring.
Must we go through life refusing to do harm to any other natural entity, "living in harmony" with it, or "respecting its rights?" Or, if it is not true that we must, is it true that we should? In "Environmental Ethics," Barbara MacKinnon explains that ecocentrists believe "that we ought ... to regard nature with admiration and respect, because of their view that nature and natural beings have intrinsic value." (MacKinnon 327) MacKinnon also states that "ethical questions ... become matters of determining what is in the best interests of these life forms or what furthers or contributes to, or is a satisfactory fit with, some ecosystem." (MacKinnon 326)...
... middle of paper ...
...n as the dominant species on the planet; moreover, it provides another explanation of why the proper concern of humankind is humankind, rather than an ecosystem or "life as a whole." If we are to remain a strong, healthy species, capable of employing the power of becoming everything that we can become, we must continue to see humanity as our own proper study.
Works Cited:
MacKinnon, Barbara. "Environmental Ethics" in Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, Second Edition. Ed Barbara MacKinnon. Albany: Belmont, 1998.
Morris, Desmond. The Naked Ape. New York: Dell, 1967.
Nietzsche, Friederich. Beyond Good and Evil. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Vintage, 1966.
Nietzsche, Friederich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra in The Portable Nietzsche. Ed. and Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking, 1954.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Dover, 1991.
The bond between humans and nature, it is fascinating to see how us has humans and nature interact with each other and in this case the essay The Heart’s Fox by Josephine Johnson is an example of judging the unknown of one's actions. She talks about a fox that had it's life taken as well as many others with it, the respect for nature is something that is precious to most and should not be taken advantage of. Is harming animals or any part of nature always worth it? I see this text as a way of saying that we must be not so terminate the life around us. Today I see us a s experts at destroying most around us and it's sad to see how much we do it and how it's almost as if it's okay to do and sadly is see as it nature itself hurts humans unintentionally
Kohak, Erazim V. "Part II." The Green Halo: a Bird's-eye View of Ecological Ethics. Chicago,
' Here's much to do with hate, but more with love.' Act 1 scene 1.
Nietzsche, Friederich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra in The Portable Nietzsche. Ed. and Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking, 1954.
In order words, Nature is beautiful in the more simple way, but at the same time if nature starts to recognize danger or the feeling of dying, she will defend herself. Humanity need the use of ethics and humility at the same time in order to have a good ecological environment. During “Thinking Like A Mountain” Leopold describes the intricate of a mountain’s biomes and the consequences of disturbing their ecological balances, describe specifically with a wolf and a deer. Leopold use the wolf and the deer as an example of how human treats nature. Referring to the wolf way of think, “he has not learned to think like a mountain” like humanity has not learned to think in the way that Mother Nature want us to think (140). Leopold describes how “a land, ethic, reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and… Reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land” giving an exact example by having a group A and a group B (258). Group A describes what one needs when on the other hand, group B “worries about a whole series of biotic side-issues” (259). By having this two groups being described, humanity today is like the group A, when one really need to change their way of mind and start to be like the group B. Society needs to use the ethics with humility in order to conserve the health of the natural
Love is often perceived as something perfect and flawless in today’s society. However, Romeo and Juliet, a play written by William Shakespeare, portrays love as a form of passionate and violent force that comes with both rewards and consequences.The tragedy focuses on two young lovers called Romeo and Juliet, whose families are intertwined in an ancient feud that disrupts the peace in Verona, Italy. For love, the two teenagers are driven to overcome obstacles they will never imagine doing, and as a result, they along other family members are forced to pay the price of their lives. Through the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare exhibits the reality of young love through the portrayal of the Queen Mab Speech, the impulsive actions taken by both lovers, and the results caused by the powerful nature of their love.
In “Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments,” Thomas Hill tries to explain why destroying nature is morally inappropriate. His main argument is that rather than asking whether this action is wrong or right, we should ask what kind of person would destroy nature. Beforehand, one view is that since plants have right or interests, one should not violate their interest by destroying them. But Hill’s view is that we cannot address the interests of plants in order to criticize those who destroy the nature, because this approach is good for sentient beings. In this essay I am going to examine whether sentient is a necessary condition for interests to be counted? My upshot is that Hill’s view is correct.
Analyzing human obligation pertaining to all that is not man made, apart from humans, we discover an assortment of concerns, some of which have been voiced by philosophers such as Tom Regan, Peter Singer and Aldo Leopold. Environmentally ethical ideals hold a broad spectrum of perspectives that, not only attempt to identify a problem, but also focus on how that problem is addressed through determining what is right and wrong.
The whole play runs in a viscous cycle of Romeo wanting his love so he
Throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, various types of love are portrayed. According to some of the students of Shakespeare, Shakespeare himself had accumulated wisdom beyond his years in matters pertaining to love (Bloom 89). Undoubtedly, he draws upon this wealth of experience in allowing the audience to see various types of love personified. Shakespeare argues that there are several different types of love, the interchangeable love, the painful love and the love based on appearances, but only true love is worth having.
as he wants to chuck Romeo out, being the enemy, as he sees it as an
The other two holy oils are the Oil of the Sick which is used in the
be as popular as it was in the 16th Century and still is today in the
“Unless humanity is suicidal, it should want to preserve, at the minimum, the natural life-support systems and processes required to sustain its own existence” (Daily p.365). I agree with scientist Gretchen Daily that drastic action is needed now to prevent environmental disaster. Immediate action and changes in attitude are not only necessary for survival but are also morally required. In this paper, I will approach the topic of environmental ethics from several related sides. I will discuss why the environment is a morally significant concern, how an environmental ethic can be developed, and what actions such an ethic would require to maintain and protect the environment.
make the world a better place like God wants us to and prove that we