"Environmental policy can't be based solely on efficiency arguments. Issues of ethics are at least as important." Discuss
"Environmental policy can't be based solely on efficiency arguments. Issues of ethics are at least as important." Discuss The above statement is true to a certain extent and in the course of this essay a balanced discussion will be presented in the hope that the outcomes will prove this to be true. To begin, the thoughts of some Russian intellectuals will be put forwards on the subject of Utilitarianism and why efficiency is self-destructive in the long run, thus supporting the statement "Environmental policy can't be based solely on efficiency arguments." To lead on from this there will be a dialogue as to the problems faced by old command and control (hence forth referred to as CAC) policies such as direct regulation and emissions fees from an efficiency and ethical viewpoint. Then, these methods of environmental policy and the ideas of Ronald Coase will be highlighted as an example of ethical influence in possible environmental policy as well as from an efficiency standpoint. Following this will be an outlining of the development of the U.S Tradable permits approach to air pollution control and the ethical influences therein. Taking the ethical issues point raised in the title statement one step further then leads onto the idea of ethical considerations. These have been based around an anthropocentric perspective, thus far and so at this point some views from an
A Role of the Environmental Ethics in the modern society.
" A role of the Environmental Ethics in the modern society" A Role of the Environmental Ethics in the modern society. The inspiration for environmental ethics was the first Earth Day in 1970 when environmentalists started urging philosophers who were involved with environmental groups to do something about environmental ethics. An intellectual climate had developed in the last few years of the 1960s in large part because of the publication of two papers in Science: Lynn White`s "The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis" (March 1967) and Garett Hardin`s "The Tragedy of the Commons" (December 1968). Most influential with regard to this kind of thinking, however, was an essay in Aldo Leopold`s A Sand County Almanac, "The Land Ethic," in which Leopold explicitly claimed that the roots of the ecological crisis were philosophical. Although originally published in 1949, Sand County Almanac became widely available in 1970 in a special Sierra Club/Ballantine edition, which included essays from a second book, Round River. Most academic activity in the 1970s was spent debating the Lynn White thesis and the tragedy of the commons. These debates were primarily historical, theological, and religious, not philosophical. Throughout most of the decade philosophers sat on the sidelines trying to determine what a field called environmental ethics might look like. The first philosophical
Utilitarianism.After Bentham had established that pleasure and pain were the important factors in determining whether an action was right or wrong, he developed the utility principle.
Utilitarianism A) Utilitarianism is all about the utility of something, it doesn't look at the action itself it looks the end result meaning it is a teleological argument. The argument tries to decide what action would lead to the most happiness for the most people. The first basic Utilitarian statement "the greatest happiness for the greatest number" was first written by Francis Hutcheson an English philosopher, although it almost always attributed to Jeremy Bentham. While utilitarianism was only officially an argument since Francis Hutcheson wrote it down other philosopher did consider the argument, like Epicurus who believed that happiness was the guiding principle ethical principle. Jeremy Bentham was a very clever person; he was born in London in 1978 and began studying Latin at the age of three. He went to Queen's college, oxford and graduated at the age of fifteen, his family had all been barristers, and now so was he. But for Bentham there was so much more he could be doing, eventually he became a philosopher and a campaigner. He was always trying to change things for the better, he tried to reform the legal and political systems, and he campaigned against imprisonment for debt and also for creating a civil service recruited by examination. In 1789 he published he major work containing ethical ideas, "an introduction to the principles of morals and legalisation".
Critically examine what is meant by natural moral law.
Critically examine what is meant by natural moral law The doctrine of natural law has its deepest foundations from Greek philosopher Aristotle but upholds the strongest dictation in the writings of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). The underlying ethical basis of Roman Catholicism also stems from his writings based around the premise that God created all things 'good'. This includes man, the highest aspect of his creation of whom he made in his own image; "Then God said: "let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, let them (man and women) rule over the fish in the sea the birds in the air, over livestock, over all earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground". One of the major aspects of natural law is the concept that everything and everyone is made with a predetermined purpose. And the starting point of all advocates of natural law is to work out this purpose akin to human life. Following ones rationale, Aquinas claims, leads us to a realisation of our 'purpose'- reason is used to find out Gods intention and the purpose of human existence and this will enable one to arrive at the principles of natural law. Focusing firstly on the word 'natural', it is synonymous with reason. Contrary to what one may assume 'natural' does not mean our natural predispositions or inclinations but rather mans ability to reason. In fact natural law is founded upon mans
Examine what is meant by situation ethics
Examine what is meant by situation ethics Joseph Fletcher an Anglican theologian was the main person to challenge the view that ethics and morality have to be based around laws and rules. He developed three ways of making moral decisions, these were: 1. The antinomian way 2.The legalistic way 3. The situational way The antinomian way was a way of making decisions without any laws or principles. It is what feels right at that particular time and on no bases whatsoever, only on how it feels to you. This was also where existentialism arose. Existentialism being a principle developed by a 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. His theory was that the best way to make decisions was for each individual to find their own unique bases for morality; the foundation for his argument was that no objective or rational bases could be grounded in moral decisions. So the antinomian approach is therefore that in every existential moment or unique situation the situation itself provides the ethical solution. The legalistic approach being at the other end of the scale. This is a way of making decisions with regard to laws or rules. The legalist will live their life in accordance with a set of guidelines or rules. For example Jews will abide by the rules of the Torah and make their decisions primarily from this source. Joseph Fletcher suggested a third way of making moral
What are the distinctive features of situation ethics?
Ethics Essay What are the distinctive features of situation ethics? Joseph Fletcher was the Anglican Theologian who invented the idea of situation ethics in 1966. This came at a time when free will and speech was important and people were in search of a time of social change and self-expression. We need to ask ourselves, what are the fundamental points of situation ethics? And what did Fletcher mean when he referred to love? By doing this we can analyse the theory and come to our own conclusions as to its practical use in the world today. His theory was in opposition to the more traditional ideas of morality at the time, the most important two being Antinomian and Legalistic approaches. The Antinomian approach is the lawless approach where there are no set principles. The situation should tell us what is the right or wrong thing to do and if we are required to take any kind of action. We should use our intuition and listen for the 'inner voice' which many people see as being out conscience and do what it tells us to do. Fletcher disagreed with this approach because he said it would lead to 'moral anarchy'. It was too vague and many people would disagree on which 'inner voice' is correct. The legalistic approach to moral issues is based on a set of absolute laws that everyone had to apply. It is said we should seek to apply these moral rules to our everyday lives and to
Shakespeare's Purpose in Subverting the "Moral Universe" in Hamlet, Measure for Measure, and the Henriad.
5/8/07 7:39:27 PM Michelle Wendt Intro to Shakespeare Fall 2003 Professor Tomkins Shakespeare's Purpose in Subverting the "Moral Universe" in Hamlet, Measure for Measure, and the Henriad The inverted "moral universe"i in Shakespearean drama was a demonstration of the increased reality that ancestral and collective foundations were losing their sanctified nature. Key upheavals were taking place and the world of Shakespeare was evolving from a time where "the earth was still the center of the universe,ii" towards a life of societal instability. Like all playwrights, Shakespeare's ideas for plot were partly a reflection of the world in which he lived. The enlightenment was a time where religion was giving way to science and economic gain. It would be unreasonable for such a reflective dramatist to omit the implications and limitations of the times in his work. The regulations and boundaries for human conduct are not always clear, especially in times of fluctuation. While I would not maintain "moral universe" is a dominant theme in Shakespeare's work, I do argue that it is a somewhat significant current running through many of his plays. To define any one "moral universe" in the work is folly, each play deserves many separate definitions. Collective morality goes through an alteration according to the circumstances of each group of characters. Situational ethics
What is the task of Kant's groundwork of the metaphysic of morals supposed to accomplish? How does he proceed? Is his project of any relevance for current debates in moral theory?
What is the task of Kant's groundwork of the metaphysic of morals supposed to accomplish? How does he proceed? Is his project of any relevance for current debates in moral theory? Amy Bond One of the most prominent deontological ethical theorists of modern times was the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant's moral theory has had a tremendous influence on ethical thought, and the broad framework of his approach to ethics is still widely used today as a guide to ethical discussion. In order to understand Kant's position, we must understand the philosophical background that he was reacting to. There are two major historical movements in the early modern period of philosophy that had a significant impact on Kant: Empiricism and Rationalism. Kant argues that both the method and the content of these philosophers' arguments contain serious flaws. A central problem for philosophers in both movements was determining how we can escape from within the confines of the human mind and the immediately knowable content of our own thoughts to acquire knowledge of the world outside of us. The Empiricists sought to accomplish this through the senses and a posteriori reasoning. The Rationalists attempted to use a priori reasoning to offer such an explanation. A posteriori reasoning depends upon experience or contingent events in the world to provide us with information and is derived from
Examine what is meant by natural law with reference to morality and analyse and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
2A. Examine what is meant by natural law with reference to morality [8 marks] "True law is right reason in agreement with nature, it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting... one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and all times, and there will be one master and rule, that is God." - Cicero, De Republica III, XXii Natural law theory is one of the most important theories in the philosophy of Classical Realism. The theory tries to convey that everything is created for a purpose and fulfilling that purpose is the 'good' to which everything aims. It is therefore an absolute, or universal theory as it is applicable to all human beings, situations and places. The quotation above written by the Roman Lawyer, Cicero, formulates the classic description of natural law in his work "On The Republic". The concept of natural law has taken several forms. The idea began with the ancient Greek and Roman conception of a universe governed by an eternal, irreversible law and their distinction between what is moral by nature and moral merely by convention. These ancient stoic ideas can readily be seen by looking at the literature of the time, specifically "Antigone" written by Sophocles in the 5th Century BCE. In this play, Creon, the ruler of Thebes, forbids the burial of Antigone's brother as punishment for treason. Antigone breaks Creon's law and
Religious Ethics are not the best approach to environmental ethics'. Discuss.
'Religious Ethics are not the best approach to environmental ethics'. Discuss. In this essay, I will be taking religious ethics to mean the ethical principles of Christianity, i.e. Christian Ethics. This includes the moral decisions based on the teachings of Christianity from such sources as the Bible. The term 'environmental issues' covers a broad spectrum of concerns. As far as ethics is concerned, the issue is how far our moral concerns should extend to the environment and how we should live out our responsibility towards it. By environment, the earth and all its living entities are concerned. As our concern for the environment has increased and our general awareness heightened, debates about morality towards the environment have emerged. Issues such as climate change, pollution, global warming and the extinction of species can all be linked to the actions of humans (e.g. CFCs and the burning of fossil fuels). Therefore, as the damage to our environment becomes more problematic, the link between its deterioration and the actions of humans becomes more prominent. Anthropocenctrism, usually attributed to the teachings of Christianity, places humans at the centre of the world and therefore the environment. Aristotle taught that 'nature has made all things specifically for the sake of man'; he basically states that humans are the only beings on earth that have intrinsic