scholarly journals A Problem for Environmental Pragmatism: Value Pluralism and the Sustainability Principle

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 286-310
Author(s):  
Okke Loman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
American Pragmatism ◽  
Rational Discourse ◽  
Environmental Pragmatism ◽  
Sustainability Criterion

Abstract In this article, I suggest that the recently emerged perspective of environmental pragmatism encompasses self-contradicting principles. For many years, it was deemed impossible for environmental ethics to formulate justified environmental policy. Environmental pragmatism, and its primary scholar Bryan G. Norton, has promoted a new outlook in that debate by proposing an ideal methodology based upon classic American pragmatism. In this methodology, a community can determine what is morally righteous by (i) conducting open-ended inquiry and (ii) considering all relevant stakeholders in a rational discourse. Environmental pragmatism must therefore accommodate reasonable value pluralism. Moreover, Norton claims that these criteria should be complemented with what I call the ‘sustainability criterion’. However, this principle of righteous decision- making appears inconsistent with the two aforementioned commitments. This article considers why this is the case.

The Neoclassical Decision-Making Paradigm and Environmental Valuation: An Environmental Ethics Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Environmental Valuation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Economic Motivation ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between environmental ethics and the application of economic values to the environment has followed two main paths: (1) blocking attempts to value the environment economically by extending the concept of moral standing to elements of the natural world, and (2) attempting a pragmatic reconciliation that harnesses the efficacy of economic motivation while avoiding the excesses of an exclusively economic perspective. The pragmatic reconciliation must still come to grips with several ethical issues that confront environmental valuation. The fact that economics is grounded in a utilitarian consequentialism renders it susceptible to some long-standing deontological challenges having to do with rights and justice. Other challenges include a reluctance to embrace value pluralism, overly ambitious attempts at pricing, failure to incorporate deeper value commitments that do not take the form of preferences, and the inadequacies of a preference-satisfaction account of well-being.

Reducing Pessimism's Sway in The Environmental Ethics Classroom

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
William James ◽  
General State ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
The Subject ◽  
State Of The Environment

AbstractIncreased awareness of the breadth and depth of existing environmental challenges is part of an environmental education. One effect of this increased awareness that can manifest itself in the environmental ethics classroom is pessimism. I outline two varieties of pessimism that have a tendency to hold sway in the environmental ethics classroom: 1) pessimism about the general state of the environment; and, 2) pessimism about being able to do anything about the general state of the environment. After outlining a few of the potential educational and vocational consequences of allowing pessimism to take root, I offer a pedagogical method for reducing the sway of pessimism in the classroom. I argue that William James' and John Dewey's writings on the subject of meliorism offer a framework that, when combined with some of the insights of incrementalism theory in environmental policy, can not only help students to reduce the sway of pessimism in the classroom, but also in their chosen career paths by, among other things, highlighting the "possibility of possibility".

'Maatschappelijk draagvlak' als alibi : macht en tegenmacht inzake milieubeleid op het middenveld

Res Publica ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-356
Author(s):  
Stefaan Walgrave
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Environmental Movement ◽  
Privileged Access ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Intermediary Organisations

Social, political and commercial organisations are stakeholders in the environmental policy decision making. Their mobilised power and counter power determine to a large extent the content of the decisions taken. Lately, the environmental movement in Flanders has grown stronger in members, professionals, financially,... but it remains relatively weak in comparison with the traditional, strong and aften pillarised intermediary organisations like unions, farmers and employers organisations. Especially its limited informal access tothe policy makers is incomparable with the exclusive and privileged access of those big organisations. Nevertheless the environmental movement is becoming a policy insider instead of an outsider, but this threatens the movements independence and its movement functions.

scholarly journals Socrates on the Emotions

Plato Journal ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 9-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Brickhouse ◽  
Nicholas D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Rational Discourse ◽  
The Many

In Plato’s Protagoras, Socrates clearly indicates that he is a cognitivist about the emotions—in other words, he believes that emotions are in some way constituted by cognitive states. It is perhaps because of this that some scholars have claimed that Socrates believes that the only way to change how others feel about things is to engage them in rational discourse, since that is the only way, such scholars claim, to change another’s beliefs. But in this paper we show that Socrates is also responsive to, and has various non-rational strategies for dealing with, the many ways in which emotions can cloud our judgment and lead us into poor decision-making. We provide an account of how Socrates can consistently be a cognitivist about emotion and also have more than purely rational strategies for dealing with emotions. http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/2183-4105_15_1

Environmental Political Theory, Environmental Ethics, and Political Science

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Smith
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Structural Forces ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Policy Problems

Environmental political theory serves as an important bridge between political science and environmental ethics. Environmental ethics has traditionally focused on our duties to non-humans and expanding our conception of the moral community. But that focus on individual ethical choice limits its usefulness in addressing environmental policy problems. Political science, in contrast, is well-suited to analyzing social structural forces that give rise to environmental problems, but political scientists have had considerable difficulty in moving away from the field’s anthropocentric foundations. I argue that environmental political theory, in contrast to traditional political science, embraces the critique of anthropocentrism developed by environmental ethicists. It attempts to build theories of justice, citizenship, and political rights and duties on a more expansive understanding of the community of justice.

Integrating Ecosystem Management and Environmental Media for Public Policy on Public Health and Safety

2018 ◽  
pp. 321-338
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Public Health And Safety

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.

Integrating Ecosystem Management and Environmental Media for Public Policy on Public Health and Safety

2021 ◽  
pp. 612-629
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Public Health And Safety

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.

Basic Risks of the Environmental Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kharchenko ◽  
E.Yu. Dorokhina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Strategy Development ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Presidential Decree ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Development Approach

The article is devoted to the analysis of the basic risks of the Russian Federation environmental policy. Unresolved problems of the environmental policy are considered and analyzed. The main reasons of insufficient scientific and methodological basis of this document, its structure, principles and priorities are investigated. An alternative view on the content of the strategy is substantiated, possible ways of quantitative strategy development based on scenario analysis and Decision Analysis scientific direction are considered in the article. An essential peculiarity of this strategy development approach is the assessment of the decision-making consequences in terms of costs, benefits and risks. This approach fully corresponds to the economy digitalization trend noted in the May presidential decree.

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