216
9 Environmental Ethics
9.10.1 Libertarian Extension
The Libertarian Extension resonates with the civil liberty approach. Ideally, the
civil liberty approach is a commitment for extending equal rights to all community
members, made up of humans and non-humans in environmentalism. One of the
major proponents of ecological humanism was Andrew Brennan. Eco-humanism
contends that ontological entities, whether inanimate or animate, can be valued
from an ethical standpoint purely on the premise that they exist. In addition, the
work carried out by Arne Naess is also under this category, though they preferred
the concept “deep ecology.” Conceptually, deep ecology supports the idea of the
intrinsic value of the environment. This argues that the environment is valuable in
itself or has inherent worth. Peter Singer is a proponent of humanist ethics (Singer
2017). The work done by Singer, including the argument about how the world can
solve poverty through donations and animal rights, could also be classified under the
Libertarian Extension. Peter Singer believes that moral values should be expanded
to include the rights of animals.
9.10.2 Ecologic Extension
According to Marshall, environmental ethics should prioritize the recognition of
interdependence regarding biological entities and their diversity. While Libertarian
Extension could be perceived as having a political depiction of the natural world,
ecologic extension is a scientific depiction of the natural world. Ecological Extension supports the intrinsic value found in ecological entities, including ecosystems.
This approach has been taken by Holmes Rolston and James Lovelock with their
Gaia hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis contends that Earth changes its geophysical
structure over a given period to ensure a constant equilibrium of inorganic and
organic matter (Bowen and Roman 2005). It characterizes the planet as a holistic
entity with ethical value. The foundation of this argument is that the human race
does not have any specific significance in the long-term. The alternative definition
of the Gaia hypothesis is as an ecological hypothesis proposing that the physical
components of the Earth and the biosphere closely integrate to form a complex
interacting system that maintains the biogeochemical and climatic conditions in a
preferred homeostasis.
9.10.3 Conservation Ethics
Conservation ethics mainly focuses on the value of the environment regarding its
usefulness/benefit to humans. It is a contradiction to the intrinsic value concepts
of deep ecology, thus called shallow ecology. Generally, it supports environmental
9 Environmental Ethics
9.10.1 Libertarian Extension
The Libertarian Extension resonates with the civil liberty approach. Ideally, the
civil liberty approach is a commitment for extending equal rights to all community
members, made up of humans and non-humans in environmentalism. One of the
major proponents of ecological humanism was Andrew Brennan. Eco-humanism
contends that ontological entities, whether inanimate or animate, can be valued
from an ethical standpoint purely on the premise that they exist. In addition, the
work carried out by Arne Naess is also under this category, though they preferred
the concept “deep ecology.” Conceptually, deep ecology supports the idea of the
intrinsic value of the environment. This argues that the environment is valuable in
itself or has inherent worth. Peter Singer is a proponent of humanist ethics (Singer
2017). The work done by Singer, including the argument about how the world can
solve poverty through donations and animal rights, could also be classified under the
Libertarian Extension. Peter Singer believes that moral values should be expanded
to include the rights of animals.
9.10.2 Ecologic Extension
According to Marshall, environmental ethics should prioritize the recognition of
interdependence regarding biological entities and their diversity. While Libertarian
Extension could be perceived as having a political depiction of the natural world,
ecologic extension is a scientific depiction of the natural world. Ecological Extension supports the intrinsic value found in ecological entities, including ecosystems.
This approach has been taken by Holmes Rolston and James Lovelock with their
Gaia hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis contends that Earth changes its geophysical
structure over a given period to ensure a constant equilibrium of inorganic and
organic matter (Bowen and Roman 2005). It characterizes the planet as a holistic
entity with ethical value. The foundation of this argument is that the human race
does not have any specific significance in the long-term. The alternative definition
of the Gaia hypothesis is as an ecological hypothesis proposing that the physical
components of the Earth and the biosphere closely integrate to form a complex
interacting system that maintains the biogeochemical and climatic conditions in a
preferred homeostasis.
9.10.3 Conservation Ethics
Conservation ethics mainly focuses on the value of the environment regarding its
usefulness/benefit to humans. It is a contradiction to the intrinsic value concepts
of deep ecology, thus called shallow ecology. Generally, it supports environmental