Environmental Ethnics Final Exam Study Guide Anthropocentric the belief that a man and his works are the center of the universe human centered Biocentric humans as only one element in the ecosystem Thinking like a Mountain in BB There is a chesty bawl that echo s only the mountain knows its deeper meaning When the hunters shot the pack of wolves the old wolf s fierce green fire dying in her eyes could be seen Just as a deer heard fears wolves the mountain fears its deer A cowman who has trimmed down wolves hasn t learned that they keep the herd in size for the range In wildness is the salvation of the world perhaps the meaning in the howl of the wolf long known by the mountain seldom perceived among men SW 5 11 The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis Ever sin e humans have become a numerous species they have affected the earth and its environment in many ways Some of which have had a negative impact on the environment Partly to blame is religion Judeo Christian scriputee brings forth the idea that God granted us domanin over the natural world nature has no reason for existence save to serve man This belief along with advances in technology including agriculture has resulted in our ever increasing impact and modification on the natural world There are many different religions and cultures that people follow however many can be traced back to either Christsain ties or influence It is Christainity that insisted that it is God s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends We must learn to thin of ourseleves as being part of nature and of equality among all organism including humans Our technological and scientific movements impacted ecology It was with the new plow that man no longer was part of nature he was the exploiter of nature God planned all animals and Earth for man s benefit and rule no item had any purpose but to serve man s purposes Christianity is the most Anthropocentric religion It established a dualism between man and nature and insisted that it is God s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends Genius Loci Guardian spirit possessed by every tree stream etc Natural Theology the religious study of nature for the better understanding of God There was a belief that scientists were dealt with the task of thinking God s thoughts after him Modern science is a an extrapolation of natural theology and modern technology is partly explained as an Occidental a voluntarist realization of the Christian dogma of mans transcendence of and rightful mastery over nature White doubts that ecologic backlash can be avoided simply by applying to our problems White contends that we must find a new religion or rethink our old one before we can get more science and more technology out of the present ecologic crisis Mar 5 Devall and Sessions in BB Deep Ecology coined by Arne Naess the essence of DE is to keep asking more searching questions about human life society and Nature as in the Western philosophical traditions of Socrates DE goes beyond the factual scientific level to the level of self and Earth wisdom It attempts to articulate a comprehensive religious and philosophical worldview Foundations upon the basic institutions and experiencing od ourselves and Nature which comprise ecological consciousness DE allows us to see past the dominant views of rich over poor humans over nonhuman Nature masculine over feminine DE is the idea that we make no firm ontological divide in the field of existence That there is no bifurcation in reality between the human and non human realms to the extend that we perceive boundaries we fall short of deep ecological consciousness Self Realization utilizes a view of self as more than isolated rather goes beyond humanity and incorporates the nonhuman world real work of becoming a person through the realization of self in self where self stands for organic wholeness Biocentric Equality all things in the biosphere have an equal right to live and blossom and to reach their own individual forms of unfolding and self realization within the larger self realization Basically assumes all organisms and entities in the ecosphere as parts of the inherited whole are equal in intrinsic worth BE is ultimately related to the all inclusive self realization in the sense that if we harm the rest of nature then we are harming ourselves There are no boundaries and everything is interrelated Implications are that we must live with minimum rather than maximum impact on other species and on the Earth in general Naess suggests that biocentric equality as an intuition is true in principle although in the process of living all species use each other as food shelter etc Aldo Leopold states that humans are plain citizens of the biotic community not lord and mater over all other species False needs destructive desires are encouraged in technocratic industrial societies which diverts us from beginning the real work of spiritual growth maturity Deep ecologists offer suggestions for gaining maturity and encouraging the processes of harmony with nature however there is no grand solution guaranteed to save us from ourselves The longer we wit the more drastic will be the measures needed until deep changes are made substantial decreases of species will occur interference does not imply humans should not modify some ecosystems as they have and will continue to do so the question is of the extent to which one does many third world countries are not interested in deep ecological issues reliance is on international not governmental agencies Naess argues that the essence of deep ecology is to ask deeper questions asking why and how where others do not Ecosophy involves a shift from science to wisdom as it relates to ethics norms rules and practice imply that the material standard of living should be drastically reduced and the quality of life in the sense of basic satisfaction in the depths of one s heart and soul should be maintained or increased lacks are starting point to be proven there is a basic intuition in DE that states we have no right to destroy other living beings without sufficient reason also with maturity human beings will experience feelings when other life forms experience them including landscapes Goal not only stabilize human population but also reduce it to a sustainable minimum without a revolution or dictatorship the greater the diversity the greater the self realization encompassed by the self known to the Chinese as Tao DE has a religious component In order to