Environmental Ethics: Anthropocentric Chauvinism as Seen in Western Ethical Theories
Rajesh K1, Rajasekaran V2
1Rajesh K, Research Scholar, Vellore Institute of Technology, Campus, Chennai (TamilNadu), India.
2Dr. Rajasekaran V, Assistant Professor, Vellore Institute of Technology, Campus, Chennai (TamilNadu), India.
Manuscript received on 13 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 20 April 2019 | Manuscript Published on 26 July 2019 | PP: 1385-1389 | Volume-8 Issue-6S4 April 2019 | Retrieval Number: F12800486S419/19©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.F1280.0486S419
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The first ethical dogmas are imparted by parents and elders; however societies strongly believe only the documented proofs. So their ideas are attributed as document forms for historical evidences in philosophical view. These shreds of evidence have their origin from Ancient Greek Western ethical theories, and they consist of clever advices on how to live happily, to avoid unnecessary troubles, and to gain progress in one’s career. It is also helpful for rulers to judge people and treat them impartially. Unfortunately, these western ethical theories have eventually developed as more anthropocentric, and humans have started cultivating a chauvinistic attitude towards both non humans and natural resources or environment. Anthropocentrism plays a crucial role in the field of environmental ethics and environmental philosophy. This paper mainly deals with environmental ethics, which is the human ethical liaison between people and the natural world and the sort of opinion people create about the environment based on this relationship. Further it analyses how western ethical theories (misinterpretation of biblical teaching and applied normative ethics utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics) have given importance to human intrinsic values and how this anthropocentric chauvinism of the western ethical theories is the root of our present environmental crisis. It also proves that we are facing global crisis today not because how the ecosystems function but rather because of the immoral functioning of our ethical system.
Keywords: Western Ethical Theories, Environmental Ethics, Environmental Philosophy, Anthropocentricism, Chauvinism, Intrinsic Values.
Scope of the Article: Environmental Engineering