Environmental Ethics Term Paper

Environmental Ethics Term Paper
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Institution
Environmental Ethics
Section 1. In Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, Donald Van De Veer discusses several theories about the ethical and social responsibility of businesses, communities and individuals to preserve the environment. The author’s view covers religious, cultural, economic, social and political perspectives on environmental conservation. In addition, the book covers animal rights and how these rights are tied to the environmental issues.
The author’s foremost argument is that human actions are motivated by self-interests. He singles out two concepts, psychological egoism and ethical egoism, which explain the motivations and desires that influence people’s actions. Under Psychological egoism, he argues that all human acts are driven by the desire to “promote one’s self-interest.” In relation to environmental issues, this view suggests that people can only preserve or protect the environment if doing so will promote their self-interests. For instance, a fisherman may be inclined to prevent water pollution because doing so will protect the fish and boost his fishing. Similarly, businesses are often compelled to engage in environmental conservation activities because it helps to protect the natural resources they use as raw materials, as well as boost the public image. In this regard, efforts to preserve the environment are not informed by altruistic motives, but calculations aimed at promoting self-interests. On the other hand, self-interest compels individuals and businesses to exploit the environment in ways that can benefit them, such as clearing forests for agriculture.
The ethical egoism concept argues that individuals have a duty to promote their own interests- it is expected that people should act in ways that benefits them. In this regard, Van De Veer suggests that exploiting the environment is morally acceptable because it involves fulfilling one’s duty to one’s self. The implication of this view is that it is misplaced to expect people to protect the environment if such efforts cannot lead to self-profiting.
The issue, then, is the point up to which individuals ought to pursue self interests. It brings into question the idea whether there is a point beyond which the pursuit of self-interest becomes unethical and immoral. For instance, the overexploitation of the environment endangers rare animal and plant species, in addition to denying future generations the used of the overexploited resources. This reasoning moves the discourse to the next level; does society owe future generations any obligations with regards to environmental preservation?
The author’s ideas on these issues suggest that the first premise is acknowledging the fact that people’s first responsibility is to themselves. They have their own self-interests to promote, hence the harsh reality that it is futile to expect individuals to do something that does not promote their immediate interests, such as incurring costs and foregoing some benefits in the name of environmental preservation. In business activities, the author argues that making comprises and payoffs, such as tax cuts, are one way that governments can ...