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The document discusses the relationship between humanity and the environment from three major views: anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. It also covers environmental aesthetics, sustainable development principles, and radical ecological philosophies like deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism. Prudence and frugality are discussed as virtues that can help address environmental problems.

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31 views

ExportDocument 1

The document discusses the relationship between humanity and the environment from three major views: anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. It also covers environmental aesthetics, sustainable development principles, and radical ecological philosophies like deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism. Prudence and frugality are discussed as virtues that can help address environmental problems.

Uploaded by

loven
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE HUMAN PERSON

AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

• Discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings with the environment and
its non- human contents.
• Philosophers believe that the human person has the ability to change the environment to
suit his purposes.
• This means that as human person, we interact not only with our fellow human beings, but
also with other living and non-living elements in our environment.
• Humankind is a part of the world, and we significantly affect our environment in the same
way that changes in our environment affect us.
THREE MAJOR VIEWS ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• 1. Anthropocentrism - focuses on the significant role of human kind in the world and
considers nature as the means by which humans are able to meet their needs and
survive.
• This view believes that humans are the most important species on the planet and they
are free to transform nature and use its resources.
THREE MAJOR VIEWS ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• 2. Biocentrism - believes that humans are not only significant species on the planet, and
that all organisms have inherent value and should be protected.
• This view drives the activities of humane organizations that advocate the ethical
treatment of animals.
THREE MAJOR VIEWS ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• 3. Ecocentrism - places great value on ecosystems and biological communities.This view


believes that humankind is part of a greater biological system or community and that we
have a significant ROLE AS STEWARDS or guardians OF NATURE.
ENVIRONMENTAL AESTHETICS

• Philosophical view that believes maintaining order in the environment will bring out the
natural beauty of the surroundings and contribute to the well-being of the people and
other organisms living in it.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - meeting the needs of the present without


compromising the needs of the future generation.
3 IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
• 1. Environmental integrity refers to maintaining the state of the environment. This means that
human activities should not disrupt the ecosystem and human communities located in the
area.
• 2. Economic efficiency refers to prudence in decision- making regarding the use of resources
to ensure that there is minimum to zero waste.
• Frugality-being thrifty with the use of one’s resources.
• Prudence- ability to regulate one’s actions and behavior.
• 3. Equity demands that we use our natural resources in such a manner that these are
conserved so that the next generation will be able to use them.
THEORIES IN RADICAL ECOLOGICAL
PHILOSOPHY
• 1. Deep ecology
• Arne Naess, proponent of Deep ecology, assumes that all living things possess equal
value and intrinsic worth regardless of their usefulness or utility to other beings.
• This is experiencing ourselves as part of the living earth and finding our role in protecting
the planet.
THEORIES IN RADICAL ECOLOGICAL
PHILOSOPHY
• 2. Social Ecology Murray Bookchin, proponent of Social ecology, believes that ecological
problems can be traced to social problems.
• Societies that are structured around hierarchies as well as economic classes use their
authority to dominate natural resources and exploit the environment for profit and self-
interest.
THEORIES IN RADICAL ECOLOGICAL
PHILOSOPHY
• 3. Ecofeminism
• It assumes that male-centered view of nature is the root cause of ecological problems.
• To address environmental problems humanity has to remove the superior vs. inferior in
human relations.
• Ecofeminism also believes that a society that tolerates the oppression of women is directly
linked with its tendency to tolerate the abuse of the environment and the degradation of
nature. It also features the existing patriarchal and capitalist systems in our society as social
and economic exploitative to the detrimental of women and nature.This theory benefits the
social and political agenda of both female and nature.
PRUDENCE AND FRUGALITY

• Prudence and frugality are two of the many virtues that can help us in addressing various
environmental problems and solving the challenges these problems have created.
PRUDENCE

• Prudence is the capacity to direct and discipline one’s activities and behavior using
reason.
• It is the behavior that is cautious and, as much as possible, keeps away from any risks.
• Prudence is considered as an ecological virtue since it can help us become wiser, more
responsible in terms of using our natural resources and, most importantly, become more
appreciative of nature’s essential value.
FRUGALITY

• Frugality is the quality of being thrifty. It is the careful supervision of one’s resources.
• Frugality, is also the cautious management of material resources, especially money.
• A frugal person always invests time to think carefully just to save a lot of money.
FRUGALITY

• How can frugality help in solving environmental problems?


• One of the main benefits of being a frugal person is that it is environmentally friendly.
When someone is being frugal in using natural resources like electricity and water, this
person is putting lesser damage on our natural environment.
• A frugal person usually lives out the idea of “reduce, reuse, recycle” just to minimize
expenses.This same idea also minimizes overall environmental impact.

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