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CHAPTER 13 Environmental Ethics
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Background and Facts about Environmental Ethics
A. Moral Principles
B. Instrumental and Intrinsic Value
C. Moral Status
D. Anthropocentrism
E. Zoocentrism
F. Biocentrism
1. Species Egalitarianism
2. Species Nonegalitarianism
G. Individualism and Holism
II. Moral Theories and Environmental Ethics
A. Kant and Anthropocentrism
B. Kant and Biocentrism
C. Utilitarianism
III. Moral Arguments and Environmental Ethics
A. Moral Status and Naturalism
B. Biocentric Egalitarianism: Taylor’s Argument
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. In disputes about environmental issues, often there is substantial agreement on the nonmoral
facts and serious divergence on
a. nonmoral principles. c. technical issues.
b. nonmoral issues or judgments. d. moral principles or judgments.
2. Something with intrinsic value is valuable
a. for someone else’s sake. c. as a means to something else.
b. for the sake of the environment. d. for its own sake.
3. Suppose you are the last human on a dead planet. Only one other living thing exists—a maple
tree. You are preparing to leave the planet for good, and you are debating with yourself about
whether you should kill the tree before departing. In the end, you decide it would be morally
impermissible to kill the tree. Your reluctance to kill the tree shows that the tree has
a. no moral status. c. moral status.
b. instrumental value. d. aesthetic value.
4. An anthropocentrist sees animals, plants, and ecosystems as
a. moral equals along with humans. c. means to unifying all life.
b. more natural than human beings. d. means to serve the ends of human beings.
5. If Peter Singer’s zoocentrist view is correct, then the practice of ________ would be impermissible.
a. leaving animals alone in the wild c. factory farming
b. grooming pets d. animal conservation
6. If you were a species nonegalitarian, you would likely believe that
a. the question of moral status is irrelevant.
b. an elk has greater moral status than a potato.
c. elk and potatoes have equal moral status.
d. elk and potatoes have no moral status.
7. The questions of whether an ape has the same moral status as a domestic cow and if animals
(human and nonhuman) deserve the same level of moral concern as plants concern the
issue(s) of
a. centrism and noncentrism.
b. ecological individualism.
c. holism.
d. species egalitarianism or nonegalitarianism.
8. Which anthropocentric philosopher said, “Animals . . . are there merely as means to an end.
That end is man”?
a. Immanuel Kant c. Paul Taylor
b. Thomas Aquinas d. Tom Regan
9. According to Peter Singer, the pain suffered by a human is ________ important than that
experienced by a nonhuman animal.
a. no more c. more
b. less d. slightly less
10. Which philosopher maintains that we must include the interests of all sentient creatures and
give their interests equal weight when calculating which action will produce the greatest
overall satisfaction of interests?
a. David Hume c. Thomas Aquinas
b. Aldo Leopold d. Peter Singer
11. To some, the fact that we value the beauty of Niagara Falls shows that we
a. value the natural over the artificial.
b. sometimes value the artificial over the natural.
c. don’t really value nature.
d. think unnatural things are worthless.
12. A counterexample to biocentric egalitarianism is that we
a. know that killing a cow is no worse than killing a carrot.
b. think that killing a cow is no worse and no better than killing a carrot.
c. assume vegetables have the same moral status as primates.
d. tend to believe that killing a cow is worse than killing a carrot.
13. The controversy over the ivory-billed woodpecker has pitted those who want to build a
massive irrigation project against environmentalists who want to stop the project to protect the
woodpecker and other species. A biocentric species egalitarian would probably insist that the
a. project be completed but with rigid safeguards to protect all sentient beings.
b. project be completed to maximize the welfare of humans.
c. project be curtailed (but not stopped) to promote the interests of humans and the ivory-billed woodpecker only.
d. project be stopped to protect the ivory-billed woodpecker and all the other species of plants and animals.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 434 TOP: I.F.1. Species Egalitarianism
MSC: Applying
TRUE/FALSE
1. Those who believe that nature possesses instrumental value only are likely to believe that a
forest has value only because of its economic worth.
2. Suppose environmentalists want to prevent the disappearance of glaciers in Glacier National
Park, which are melting away at an alarming rate. One report claims that slowing global
warming can help prevent the melting, which would be accomplished by creating better fuel
efficiency for cars and stronger energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances.
Laws passed to implement these higher standards would necessarily reflect a belief that
glaciers have moral status.
3. The anthropocentrist necessarily has no regard for the environment.
4. In both zoocentrism and biocentrism, the fundamental unit of moral consideration is the individual animal or plant.
5. If Kant’s anthropocentric view is correct, then using animals in horrifically painful medical experiments would be permissible as long
as the experiments served human needs.
6. The ecological individualist insists that we must take into consideration the interests of human
beings only.
7. The difficulty underlying the moral dilemma of climate change boils down to what obligations,
if any, we have to future generations.
ANS: T DIF: Moderate REF: p. 435
TOP: II. Moral Theories and Environmental Ethics MSC: Applying
SHORT ANSWER
1. A being has ________ when it is a suitable candidate for direct moral concern or respect.
2. The notion that only humans have moral status is called ________.
3. A ________ holds the view that all living entities have moral status, whether sentient or not.
4. One who believes that some living things have greater moral status than others is known as a
species ________.
5. The view called ________ says that, when considering our moral obligations to the
environment, the good of the whole should always outweigh the good of an individual.
