Ethical Dimensions of Environment

S.D. Chamola


First Edition, 2014

ISBN:  978-81-8220-653-3

Rs. 1300

About the Book

The book analyses the ethical dimensions of environment. There is dearth of literature on this aspect and the present work is a humble contribution to enrich this aspect of environmental ethics. Only four aspects of the ethical dimensions of environment have been taken into consideration. The first dimension deals with concepts and related issues of environmental ethics, its various approaches and the philosophical development in the field. In the second dimension, an attempted has been made to link economic development with environmental ethics. This involves the study of cost-benefit analysis of environment. The scope and subject matter of ecological economics are also discussed. The third dimension analyses the social issues associated with environmental ethics. The major issues included are the ethical aspects of land, animals, population, quality of life, and globalization as these aspects impact our environment to a great extent. Finally, the religious traditions and their impact on environment have been analysed. These religious traditions are the historical roots of our present ecological crisis. Therefore, their analysis will go a long way in understanding the environmental crisis and finding a solution.

Contents

      Acknowledgements                                                       (v)

      Preface                                                                        (vii)

1.   Introduction                                                                    1

• Environmental Ethics and Philosophy: Concepts and Issues • Ethics, Economics and Environment • Environmental Ethics and Social Issues • Environmental Ethics in Religious Traditions

Part –I

Environmental Ethics and Philosophy:
Concepts and Issues

2.   Environmental Ethics: Concepts and Issues                25

• Ethics Defined • Environmental Ethics Defined
• Approaches to Environmental Ethics • Land Ethics
• Teleology and Axiology • The Major Issues Ethical Questions

3.   The Shallow and the Deep Ecologies                          45

• The Shallow Ecology • Deep Ecology • The Eight-point Platform • Ecophilosophical Principles of Deep Ecology
• Critical Evaluation of Deep Ecology Movement • Deep Ecology, Social Ecology, and Ecofeminism • Conclusion

4.   Ecological Feminism and Ethics of Care                      57

• Feminism • Ecological Feminism • Links between Environmental and Feminists Issues • Philosophy and Ecological Feminism • Unrealistic Assumptions • Operative Conceptual Framework • Key Features of Ecological – Feminist Ethic • Ethics of Care and Feminism • The Deep Ecology – Ecofeminism Debate • Justice versus Care Debate • Ecological Feminism and Essentialism Debate

5.   Environmental Ethics in Contemporary and
Post Modern Philosophy                                              73

• Introduction • A Brief History of the Philosophy of Environmental Ethics • Integration between Philosophy and Environmental Ethics • Origin of New Philosophy • Deep Ecology and Animal Liberation • Diversification and Consolidation of Environment Philosophy • Emerging Approaches and Directions • Future Directions

Part II

Ethics, Economics and Environment

6.   Economics and Ethics                                                   91

• Economics and Ethics Defined • How Economics, Welfare Economics and Ethics can Play Complementary Role to Each other? • Utilitarian Approach in Economics and Ethics
• Agency and Well-being Distinction and Interdependence • Freedom and Consequences • Ethics and Distributive Justice • Amartya Sen’s Idea of Justice

7.   Economic Development and Nature                          105

• Criticism of GDP Index • Role of Nature in Economic Development • Emergence of New Studies on Economic Development and Environmental Connections • The Environmental Processes and Economic Development • Quantifying the Social Worth of Natural Capital 
• Sustainable Development  • Impact on International Trade

8.   Ecological Economics                                                  119

• Ecological Economics Defined • Mainstream Economics and Ecology • Non-suitability of Mainstream Economic Theory to Ecological Sustainability • Emergence of Ecological Economics • Measuring Economic Progress • Non-Market Valuation Techniques • Economics, Environmental Law and Ethics • Economic Rationale for International Law

9.   Ethical Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis
of Environmental Projects                                          133

• Cost-Benefit Analysis Defined • History of the Concept of Cost-Benefit Analysis • Ethical Foundations of the Cost-Benefit Analysis • Critical Evaluation of Cost-Benefit Analysis • Role of Discounting in CBA • Practical Effects of Choosing a Discount Rate

10.  Ethics of Sustainable Development                           143

• The Concept of Sustainable Development • Brief History of Sustainable Development • Issues at Stake in Sustainable Development • Some Important Initiatives on Sustainable Development • The Critique of Sustainable Development
• The Future of Sustainable Development

Part III

 Environmental Ethics and Social Issues

11.  Land Ethics                                                                 163

• Land Ethics Defined • Ethical Sequence • The Community Concept • The Ecological Cosnscience • The Land Pyramid
• Land Health and the A-B Cleavages • Evaluation of Leopold’s Land Ethic

12   Animal Ethics                                                              175

• Introduction • Review of Literature • Schools of Thoughts • General Trends • Limits of Using Animals • Theories of Ethics • Conclusion

13   Environmental Conditions and Quality of Life        189

• Environmental Conditions and Human Health• Access to Environmental Services • Environmental Amenities and Disamenities • Climate Variations and Natural Disasters • Indicators of Environmental Variations • Indicators for Better Monitoring of Relations between Environmental Conditions and Quality of life

14   Population Ethics and Religious Traditions             199

• Introduction • The Concept of Population Ethics and Related issues • Principles of Population Ethics • Key Ethical Principles • Population Ethics and Religious Traditions
• Summary and Conclusions

15.  Globalization and Environmental Ethics                  223

• Understanding Globalization • Environmental Impacts on Globalization • Environmental Challenges in Globalization
• International Trade, Economic Development and Environment • Combating Environmental Decline • Global Governance  • Some International Initiatives

Part IV

Environmental Ethics in Religious Traditions

16.  Historical Roots of Ecological Crisis                          241

• Technology and Ecological Deterioration •  Mechanization of Agriculture • Religious Beliefs of Nature and Destiny

17.  Environmental Ethics in Indian
Religious Traditions                                                   245

• Hinduism • Jainism • Buddhism

18.  Environmental Ethics in Middle East and
European Religious Traditions                                  259

• Islam • Christianity • Judaism • Zoroastrianism

19.  Environmental Ethics in Chinese and Japanese Religio-Philosophical Tradition        277

• Confucianism • Daoism • Shintoism

      Bibliography                                                                291

      Index                                                                            301

 

 

 

About the Author

Dr. S.D. Chamola did his M.A and Ph.D in Economics from the Punjab University Chandigarh. He retired as a Professor and Head, Department of Economics and Business Management, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. After retirement he got Senior Fellowship from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and published his research work in the form of a book. Kautilya Arthshastra and Science of Management: Its Relevance for Contemporary India. He also published books entitled Economic Development and Ethics, Co-edited the book, Agriculture and Rural Development in India: Some Emerging Issues. His latest book is entitled, Ethics in Economics, Science and Technology: Theory and Practices. He has also served as visiting professor in a number of universities. Dr. Chamola has teaching and research experience of over 40 years and has supervised more than 10 Ph.D students. He has also more than 150 research papers to his credit which were published in various journals in India and abroad. He was also associated with many government committees and also served as consultant with the World Bank and the Governments of India and Haryana.

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