Kant’s Pre-critical Ontology and Environmental Philosophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-102
Author(s):  
Zachary Vereb ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
Critical Philosophy ◽  
Critical Ontology ◽  
Ontological Framework

In this paper I argue that Kant’s pre-critical ontology, though generally dismissed by environmental philosophers, provides ecological lessons by way of its metaphysical affinities with environmental philosophy. First, I reference where environmental philosophy tends to place Kant and highlight his relative marginalization. This marginalization makes sense given focus on his critical works. I then outline Kant’s pre-critical ontological framework and characterize the ways in which it is ecological. Finally, I conclude with some ecological reflections on the pre-critical philosophy and its possible relevance for contemporary environmental issues.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The World ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Two Sides

Environmental philosophy and philosophy of technology have a lot in common. Both fields explore the positive and negative aspects of human modifications of the world. Both question the limits of technology in relation to natural environments, animals, plants, and food. Both examine if human making and doing is compatible with nature or wholly different from it. And both examine the difference between what is considered to be natural and artificial. Technology and the environment further intersect in a number of issues, such as climate change, sustainability, geo-engineering, and agriculture. The reason for the overlap is fundamental: Environmental issues inevitably involve technology, and technologies inevitably have environmental impacts. Technology and the environment are like two sides of the same coin: Each is fully understood only in relation to the other. Yet, despite the ample overlap of questions concerning technology and the environment, the two philosophical fields have developed in relative isolation from each other. Even when philosophers in each field address themselves to similar concerns, the research tends to be parallel rather than intersecting, and the literatures remain foreign to one another. These divergent paths are unfortunate. Philosophers from each field have a lot to contribute to the other....

THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODEL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volobymyr Hobela ◽  
◽  
Nataliya Blaga ◽  
Halyna Leskiv ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Environmental Economics ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
The State ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
Ecological Ethics ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
Ecological Worldview

The research was devoted to the actual problem of forming the concept of ecologically safe social development, which substantiates the relevance of this problem because of the state of the economy and the current environmental issues. The theoretical analysis of the main provisions and directions of ecological ethics is carried out, their influence on consciousness and behavior of the person in ecological and economic systems is analyzed. The relationship and interaction of environmental ethics, social ecology, environmental philosophy, and environmental economics were considered. The most acceptable provisions of environmental ethics are highlighted, taking into account modern realities and their impact on the ecological and economic system and social development. Theoretical bases and basic approaches to ensuring ecologically friendly development were investigated; their structuring and analysis were conducted. The basic concepts of social development transformation into ecologically friendly were considered and their theoretical analysis was carried out, the basic advantages and lacks the specified concepts taking into account a current state of economy and environmental issues were allocated. Taking into account empirical researches and results of a comparison of the main provisions was concluded the necessity of introducing the basic provisions of the concept of degrowth for the state economic and ecological safety maintenance. Detailed analysis and characterization of the key provisions of the degrowth concept. The theoretical basis of this concept was analyzed; its main goals and objectives were formed. Based on the results of the analysis, a theoretical model of ecologically friendly development of the state’s economy was developed, which provides for the development of a certain direction of environmental ethics, formation of the most acceptable ecological worldview, based on the concept of degrowth and provides intensive greening of all spheres of human activity.

scholarly journals Beyond Application. The Case of Environmental Ethics

2020 ◽  
pp. 437-460
Author(s):  
Luca Valera ◽  
Gabriel Vidal ◽  
Yuliana Leal
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Applied Ethics ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ontological Status ◽  
Ontological Sense

Environmental ethics is often seen as a branch of applied ethics whose task is to offer solutions to emerging ethical dilemmas in the context of ecology. In this paper, we challenge this assumption, showing how the object of environmental ethics raises questions that go beyond that of applied ethics. We explore how the environmental issues bring up the need to inquire into the ontological status of Nature and the place of human beings in it, raising more general and far-reaching questions that do not get entrapped in the mere application. In this regard, it appears that “dwelling”, in its ontological sense, is at the bottom of these questions, creating a bridge between the ontological and the practical realm. Finally, we review classical environmental ethics’ paradigms highlighting the elements that go beyond applied ethics. And so, taking into account the different environmental ethics paradigms, we have two options: reducing the scope of the discipline and exclude the models that exceed it, or reconsidering it as an environmental philosophy tout court.

Bio-divinity and Biodiversity: Perspectives on Religion and Environmental Conservation in India

Numen ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Tomalin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
Sacred Grove ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
River Ganges ◽  
Tehri Dam ◽  
Protest Activity

AbstractReligious environmentalists argue that religious traditions teach that the Earth is sacred and that this has traditionally served to exert control over how people interact with the natural world. However, while the recognition of "bio-divinity" is a feature of many religious traditions, including Hinduism, this is to be distinguished from religious environmentalism which involves the conscious application of religious ideas to modern concerns about the global environment. Religious environmentalism is a post-materialist environmental philosophy that has emerged from the West and has its roots in the eighteenth century European "Romantic Movement." Using the example of sacred grove preservation in India, this paper assesses the extent to which claims that Hinduism is environmentally friendly are the product of an elite middle-class environmentalist ideology and hence of little relevance to the majority of Hindus. However, the fact that discourses about sacred grove preservation have become common within discussions about the conservation of biodiversity in India might suggest that religious environmentalism does have a broader relevance. While religious institutions have, on the whole, paid little attention to environmental issues in India, one area where ecological causes have made an impact is within Hindu nationalist groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). This paper concludes with a discussion of the similarities between the historicist strategies of the Hindu Right and religious environmentalism, and discusses the anti-Tehri dam campaign where representatives of both have been involved in protest activity to protect the River Ganges.

Philosophy, Technology, and the Environment

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Philosophy ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Human Modification ◽  
Biological Analogy ◽  
Technological Interventions

Environmental philosophy and philosophy of technology have taken divergent paths despite their common interest in examining human modification of the natural world. Yet philosophers from each field have a lot to contribute to the other. Environmental issues inevitably involve technologies, and technologies inevitably have environmental impacts. In this book, prominent scholars from both fields illuminate the intersections of environmental philosophy and philosophy of technology, offering the beginnings of a rich new hybrid discourse. All the contributors share the intuition that technology and the environment overlap in ways that are relevant in both philosophical and practical terms. They consider such issues as the limits of technological interventions in the natural world, whether a concern for the environment can be designed into things, how consumerism relates us to artifacts and environments, and how food and animal agriculture raise questions about both culture and nature. They discuss, among other topics, the pessimism and dystopianism shared by environmentalists, environmental philosophers, and philosophers of technology; the ethics of geoengineering and climate change; the biological analogy at the heart of industrial ecology; green products and sustainable design; and agriculture as a bridge between technology and the environment.

On visions and promises — ethical aspects of in vitro meat

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 753-758
Author(s):  
Silvia Woll
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
In Vitro Meat ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Production Conditions

Innovators of in vitro meat (IVM) are convinced that this approach is the solution for problems related to current meat production and consumption, especially regarding animal welfare and environmental issues. However, the production conditions have yet to be fully clarified and there is still a lack of ethical discourses and critical debates on IVM. In consequence, discussion about the ethical justifiability and desirability of IVM remains hypothetical and we have to question those promises. This paper addresses the complex ethical aspects associated with IVM and the questions of whether, and under what conditions, the production of IVM represents an ethically justifiable solution for existing problems, especially in view of animal welfare, the environment, and society. There are particular hopes regarding the benefits that IVM could bring to animal welfare and the environment, but there are also strong doubts about their ethical benefits.

The New Forest Suicide Prevention Initiative (NFSPI)

Crisis ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth King ◽  
Neil Frost
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Exhaust Gas ◽  
Telephone Number ◽  
Forestry Commission ◽  
Car Exhaust ◽  
Gas Poisoning ◽  
Car Park ◽  
Annual Total ◽  
New Forest ◽  
Car Exhaust Gas

Abstract. A retrospective suicide study revealed that the Forestry Commission car parks in the New Forest in southern England were a previously unrecognized magnet for nonlocal suicides, attracting as high a proportion of “visitors” (35/43 in 1993-97) as among suicides who jumped from the cliffs at the infamous Beachy Head (39/48 in 1993-97). Over 95% of the car park suicides died from car exhaust gas poisoning. A multiagency initiative aimed to reduce the number of suicides in the 140 New Forest car parks where restricting access was impossible, and environmental issues paramount. Signs displaying the Samaritans' national telephone number were erected in the 26 car parks in which 50% of the car park suicides had occurred. Numbers, location, and residence of all car park deaths were monitored for 3 years. Corresponding changes in other forest registration districts were also monitored. During the 3-year intervention period the number of car park suicides fell significantly from 10/year, 1988-1997, to 3.3/year. The average annual total number of suicides in the New Forest registration district also decreased. No significant changes were found in comparable forest districts. The number of suicides in the New Forest car parks remained low during the 2 years following the evaluation.

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