The intrinsic value of nature and moral education

RESUMEN: El trabajo aborda el problema ambiental desde una perspectiva moral, como tesis central. Se justifica la necesidad de un nuevo enfoque del problema medioambiental que supere los planteamientos estrictamente ecológicos en los que estamos instalados. Destacan el valor intrínseco de la naturaleza y la necesidad de cambiar nuestras relaciones con ella. Por último, se ofrecen unas propuestas educativas que podrían favorecer unas relaciones más respetuosas de los humanos con la naturaleza.ABSTRACT: This paper tackles the environmental problem from a moral perspective as its main argument. It justifies the need for a new focus on the environmental problem which goes beyond the strictly ecological approaches in which we are set. The intrinsic value of nature and the need to change our relationship with it are highlighted. Ffinally, some educational proposals are put forward which could encourage more respectable human attitudes towards nature. Key words: sustainable development, ethics, value, moral education, environmental education.SOMMAIRE: Ce travail aborde le problème de l’environnement d’un point de vue moral comme thèse centrale. Le besoin d’une nouvelle démarche concernant le problème environnemental qui dépasse les approches strictement écologiques dans lesquelles nous nous trouvons est démontré. La valeur intrinsèque de la nature et le besoin de changer nos relations avec elles sont soulignées. Eenfin, des propositions éducatives qui pourraient favoriser des relations plus respectueuses des êtres humains avec la nature sont présentées.

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Ecosystem Services as a Metaphor in Environmental Law

The University of Queensland Law Journal ◽

10.38127/uqlj.v39i3.5663 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 525-548

Author(s):

Justine Bell-James

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Value Of Nature ◽

Commodification Of Nature

The ecosystem services concept is a useful tool in environmental law, as it allows nature to be considered on the same plane of comparison as proposed development. However, the concept has received significant criticism, with many critics arguing that nature should be valued for its intrinsic worth. This article synthesises the ethical objections to the ecosystem services concept, distinguishing objections to the concept itself, and objections to the commodification of nature. It considers how the concept has been used in Australian environmental law to date, drawing on examples from the coastal wetland context. It concludes that most applications have not involved commodification, and have incorporated notions of intrinsic value. It concludes with some observations for future progress in this field, considering how the ecosystem services concept can be balanced with concerns for respecting the intrinsic value of nature.

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Rights of Nature: Why it Might Not Save the Entire World

Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law ◽

10.1163/18760104-01601004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 35-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Julien Bétaille

Keyword(s):

Paradigm Shift ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

New Paradigm ◽

Philosophical Approach ◽

Legal Personhood ◽

Rights Of Nature ◽

Value Of Nature ◽

Entire World ◽

Wide Access

The advent of Rights of Nature (RoN) marks a new paradigm shift in the philosophical approach to nature. As such, the concept has generated enthusiasm amongst environmentalists and legal scholars. This is not surprising since granting legal personhood to nature seems to present itself as a relative easy fix for the multitude of deficiencies of “modern” environmental law. However, when critically assessed, many of the underlying assumptions justifying a shift towards rights-based approaches to nature are open to challenge. In this paper, which takes a more critical stance on the topic of RoN, it is submitted that also the much-criticized modern environmental law is moving towards a recognition of the intrinsic value of nature, puts breaks on property rights, offers remediation actions for pure ecological damage and also increasingly grants environmental ngos wide access to courts. Moreover, on a second level, it is argued that RoN are not a legal revolution and that many of the problems Rights of Nature tries to cure – such as a lack of enforcement – will simply re-emerge if not adequately assessed within this novel paradigm.

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Rolston, Lonergan, and the Intrinsic Value of Nature

Journal of Religious Ethics ◽

10.1111/0384-9694.00007 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 105-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Theodore W. Nunez

Keyword(s):

Intrinsic Value ◽

Value Of Nature

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Ecology as a New Foundation for Natural Theology

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel12080660 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 660

Author(s):

Andreas Gonçalves Lind ◽

Bruno Nobre

Keyword(s):

Common Ground ◽

Natural Theology ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Human Beings ◽

Starting Point ◽

Value Of Nature ◽

Viable Approach ◽

High Degree ◽

Universal Reason ◽

Nietzschean Critique

The erosion of metaphysics that began in Modernity has led to the discredit of the whole project of natural theology as a means to reach God, establish the classical divine attributes, and account for divine action. After the deconstruction of classical metaphysics propelled by thinkers associated with the Protestant tradition and by philosophers affiliated with the Nietzschean critique, it may appear that only an apophatic approach to God would then be possible. However, the attempt to establish a consensual foundation for the theological discourse has not lost its relevance. In this sense, the attempts to revitalize natural theology are most welcome. It would be naive, however, to think that approaches to natural theology based on classical metaphysics will easily gather consensus. This will not happen. The departing point for a renewed and credible approach to natural theology cannot be the theoretical universal reason associated with Modernity, which is no longer acknowledged as a common ground. As such, a viable approach to natural theology has to find a new consensual starting point. The goal of this article is to argue that the emergence of a new ecological urgency and sensibility, which nowadays gather a high degree of consensus, offers an opportunity for the renewal of natural theology. It is our aim: (i) to show the extent to which God grounds the intrinsic value of nature, which, as such, deserves respect, and (ii) to suggest that the reverence for nature may naturally lead contemporary human beings to God.

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Franciscan Spirituality and Economics

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel9100288 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 288

Author(s):

Laszlo Zsolnai

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Financial Efficiency ◽

Material Wealth ◽

Community Economy ◽

Value Of Nature ◽

Franciscan Spirituality

St. Francis was hostile to money and material wealth. He was also against exploitation or misuse of natural creatures and promoted voluntary poverty, sharing, and universal brotherhood. This paper examines the implications of St. Francis’s views for economics. It is argued that St. Francis’s views imply the substantive notion of the term “economic” and favor material sufficiency instead of financial efficiency. Pope Francis’s encyclical letter “Laudato si’” is consistent with and supports St. Francis’s views, which emphasize the frugality of consumption and acknowledging the intrinsic value of nature. The overall vision of St. Francis can be characterized as “The Commonwealth of Life” based on a God-centered, spiritual way of living and acting. The paper suggests that the models of a sufficiency-oriented community economy are relevant for realizing St. Francis’s legacy in today’s reality of climate change described by climate scientists as the “Hothouse Earth” pathway.

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