CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Young, Sophie Kate |
|---|---|
| Title | Valuing Nature: How an Environmental Ethics Grounds Our Moral Obligations to Combat Climate Change |
| Summary | A large part of the growth of interest in environmental issues witnessed over recent decades has been generated by the wide acknowledgement that our planet’s climate is undergoing extensive changes as a result of certain human activities. It is thought that these changes will cause damage to the environment that is unprecedented in modern history. This fact alone sends a clear signal that it is time for us all to carefully consider what our proper relationship to the natural environment should be. This thesis seeks to reject the dominant Western tradition that views nature as possessing only instrumental value. Instead, it seeks to establish the moral considerability of all life forms, by showing that they have interests and a wellbeing that makes them deserving of direct moral concern. Furthermore, it seeks to show that where there are conflicts between the interests of species, the principle of the equal consideration of interests should be used to determine what the morally best course of action should be. The implications of these arguments for climate change policy are shown to be very significant indeed. By showing that all life forms have interests, and that all interests are deserving of equal consideration, we are forced to conclude that human beings must begin the process of ending our current engagement in many activities that are damaging to the environment. This is morally required because it comes at relatively little cost to our interests when considered in the context of the damage that will be done to the interests of others if we fail to do so. |
| Supervisor | Miklosi, Zoltan |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/young_sophie.pdf |
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