Module 15: Exploring Environmental Philosophy

On Environmental Philosophy

Environmental philosophy- is a branch of philosophy that is concerned

with the natural environment and humans' place within it.

 It asks crucial questions about human environmental relations such as

"What do we mean when we talk about nature?"
 "How should we respond to environmental challenges such as
environmental degradation, pollution and climate change?"
 "What is our place in the natural world?"
Module 15: Exploring Environmental Philosophy

 It is concerned with defining environment and nature, how to

value the environment, moral status of animals and plants,
endangered species, environmentalism and deep ecology,
aesthetic value of nature, restoration of nature, and consideration
of future generations.

 Environmental philosophy includes the following areas:

environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, ecofeminism,
environmental hermeneutics, and environmental theology.
Module 15: Exploring Environmental Philosophy
POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE (An Excerpt From the Laudato Si of Pope Francis)

Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric
pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and
causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high
levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects
everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the
acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and
agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the
only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious
network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create
others
Module 15: Exploring Environmental Philosophy

Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous
waste present in different areas. Each year, hundreds of millions of tons of waste are
generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and
businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial
sources. The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of
filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are
now covered with rubbish. Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and
agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population,
even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken
until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected.
Module 15: Exploring Environmental Philosophy
These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as
it quickly reduces things to rubbish. To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is
thrown away and not recycled. It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems
work is exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become
food for carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to
new generations of plants. But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and
consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products.
We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving
resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of
non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use,
reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of
counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that
only limited progress has been made in this regard.
Module 16: Understanding the Areas of Environmental Philosophy

Areas of Environmental Philosophy

 Environmental philosophy has five areas, namely, environmental ethics, environmental

aesthetics, ecofeminism, environmental hermeneutics, and environmental theology.

1. Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending

the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-
human world.

2. Environmental aesthetics has as its subject matter the aesthetic experience of the world. It
focuses on questions concerning appreciation of the world at large and, moreover, that
world as it is constituted not simply by particular objects but also by environments
themselves.
Module 16: Understanding the Areas of Environmental Philosophy

Areas of Environmental Philosophy

3. Ecofeminism is an area of environmental philosophy that links feminism with ecology.

I seeks to eradicate all forms of social injustice, not just injustice against women and the
environment.

4. Environmental hermeneutics is an area of environmental philosophy that applies the

techniques and resources of the philosophical field of hermeneutics to environmental
issues. It addresses issues of interpretation as they relate to nature and environmental
issue.

5. Environmental theology is an area of environmental philosophy that focuses on the

understanding of God's relationship to the cosmos or Creation.
Module 16: Understanding the Areas of Environmental Philosophy
Be the Heroes We Never Were – and Live

We do not inherit the land from our parents,” farmers often say. “We merely borrowed it
from our children.”

Is this then how we, of the fading generation, handled the wealth you entrusted us? We
dissipated your environmental capital. In so doing, we endangered your capacity to
provide, in the years ahead, daily bread for your families from the land you loaned us.

As prodigal parents, we radically altered your future. Your natural resource base is
depleted. Greed of the past has been to that. We lowered the threshold for violence by
breeding social unrest. Above all, you will have little time left to correct our failures.

What hurts most is we stripped the land of its beauty.

Module 16: Understanding the Areas of Environmental Philosophy

Your children will no longer thrill, as we once did, to the heart-stopping dive of a hawk.
Nor will they breathe in the heady fragrance of pine forest. The rich texture of Philippine
mahogany will be, at best, a quaint story for them. Their panoramas will be of drab
landscapes, blanketed by sterile cogon grass, not the verdant meadows we knew, as
youngsters.

The bitter tragedy is: “These victims are our grandchildren. They are “flesh of our flesh
and bone of our bone.”

We hope that you learn the lesson we never fully grasped: that “a man’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions”; that sharing and equity constitute the first
needs of your survival.
Module 17: Reflecting on Environment-Related World-Views
Environment-related Worldviews
There are three worldviews which are related to the environment, namely,
biocentrism, ecocentrism, and anthropocentrism:
1. Biocentrism is a world-view that upholds that all living beings have inherent value and
humans are not superior to others.
 It is an ethical point of view that extends inherent value to all living things. It is an
understanding of how the earth works, particularly as it relates to its biosphere or
biodiversity.
 It stands in contrast to anthropocentrism, which centers on the value of humans.
Biocentrism does not imply the idea of equality among the animal kingdom, for no such
notion can be observed in nature.
 Biocentric thought is nature-based, not humanbased. Advocates of biocentrism often
promote the preservation of biodiversity, animal rights, and environmental protection.
Module 17: Reflecting on Environment-Related World-Views

2. Ecocentrism is a world-view which puts forward the value of the

ecosystems (both its living and non-living components) above all.
 As such, the value of biodiversity is above the value of individuals or
single species (including humans).
 Ecocentrism denotes a naturecentered, as opposed to human-centered
(i.e. anthropocentric), system of value.
Module 17: Reflecting on Environment-Related World-Views

3. Anthropocentrism is a world-view that puts the human being at the center

stage and, hence, nature and ecosystems are sources of resources for human use.
 It is the belief that human beings are the most important entity in the
universe.
 Anthropocentrism interprets or regards the world in terms of human values
and experiences.
 Anthropocentrism is considered to be profoundly embedded in many modern
human cultures and conscious acts.
 It is a major concept in the field of environmental ethics and environmental
philosophy, where it is often considered to be the root cause of problems
created by human action within the ecosphere.
Module 18: Examining Philippine Environmental Laws
Philippine Laws Protective of the Environment
 Sec. 16, Art. II, Republic Act No. 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of
1987 Philippine 2000)
Constitution This law provides that it is the policy of the State to adopt a systematic,
 This provision comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program which
mandates that the shall:
State shall protect  a) ensure the protection of the public health and environment;
and advance the right  b) utilize environmentally-sound methods that maximize the
utilization of valuable resources and encourage resource
of the people to a
conservation and recovery; and,
balanced and
 c) set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume
healthful ecology in reduction through source reduction and waste minimization
accord with the measures, including composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green
rhythm and harmony charcoal process, and others, before collection, treatment and
of nature. disposal…
Module 18: Examining Philippine Environmental Laws
Philippine Laws Protective of the Environment
Republic Act No. 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004)
This law provides that the State shall pursue a policy of economic growth in a
manner consistent with the protection, preservation and revival of the quality of
our fresh, brackish and marine waters.
To achieve this end, the framework for sustainable development shall be
pursued. As such, it shall be the policy of the State:
a) to streamline processes and procedures in the prevention, control and abatement of
pollution
b) to promote environmental strategies,
c) to formulate a holistic national program of water quality
d) to formulate an integrated water quality management
Module 18: Examining Philippine Environmental Laws
Philippine Laws Protective of the Environment
Republic Act No. 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999)
This law provides that the State shall pursue a policy of balancing development
and environment protection.
To achieve this end, the framework for sustainable development shall be pursued. As
such, it shall be the policy of the State to:
a) formulate a holistic national program of air pollution that shall be implemented
by the government through proper delegation and effective coordination of
function and activities;
b) encourage cooperation and self-regulation among citizen and industries through
the application of incentives market-based instruments; and,
c) focus primarily on pollution prevention rather than on control and provide for a
comprehensive management program on air pollution.
Module 19: Elaborating the human being’s place on earth
Man as a Social Being
 The human being is a social 1. Social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes
being. He/she is always with
his/her fellow human beings.
 conceives of a pre-society state of nature in which
 Man is always conscious of strife and killing was the rule, and man’s life was
the presence other human poor, solitary, nasty, brutish and short.
beings.  Quite naturally, because man wanted to escape from
 The historical relation of man
the condition, a relation was consequently built up
and other people or of man
and society is captured by the between human beings in the form of a social
social contract theory contract.
popularized by Thomas  The contract not only established a relation between
Hobbes, Jean Jacques them, but each individual suffered in himself a
Rousseau, and John Locke.
demolition of irresponsibility and brutish behavior
Module 19: Elaborating the human being’s place on earth
Man as a Social Being
2. Social contract theory of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 3. Social contract theory of John
Locke
 asserts that society is a product of a contract  also claims that the pre-contract
naturally made between human beings. state of society was the state of
 Rousseau’s pre-society state of nature was a free nature in which peace and
world in which unlimited human bliss did not at harmony prevailed and every man
first motivate man to think in terms of a contract. was born free.
 Gradually, when population increased and the  There was a natural order that
concept of personal property was gaining guided man’s actions, but no
recognition, in order to protect himself, man sanction existed for the
voluntarily made the social contract. punishment of any violation of any
 Individual will was then, for collective good, made natural law. This brought about the
subject to collective will. social contract and the society.
Module 20: Examining the human being’s responsibility to the planet Earth
Types of Society
According to Aristotle, man is a social being. This means that human beings
are naturally directed into forming groups because of their need for subsistence.
Human beings need society for the attainment of their optimum happiness
and where they can work and enjoy their lives.
Society allows the individual members to flourish and live a good life.
Society allows human beings to be moral and practice human virtue.
 Human beings as embodied subjects are born in a pre-existing social condition.
Speaking of society, through time different types of society emerged. These
types are the pre-industrial society, industrial society, and the post-industrial
society.
Man is a Social Animal. Human beings are social beings as they cannot live alone
or in isolation. They need each other to fulfill their needs. They need each other to
Module 20: Examining the human being’s responsibility to the planet Earth
Types of Society
I. Pre-industrial Society- The pre-industrial society is characterized by having
limited forms of production, limited division of labor and limited social
stratification. It has three kinds:
1. Hunting and gathering 2. Horticulture and pastoral society
society  characterized by domestication of animals and
cultivation of plants.
 the longest running type of  Here, human beings used hand tools to cultivate
society – it occupies 90% of crops. They produced more goods which
human history. allowed them to do other things, and started
 The use of simple tools to hunt trading with other societies.
animals and gather vegetation  Moreover, inequality started to appear as some
is the feature of this society. people acquire more possession than others.
Module 20: Examining the human being’s responsibility to the planet Earth

Types of Society

3. Agrarian society
 characterized by development of new materials and
methods for cultivating plants and animals.
 This yielded to more products and food supply.
Accumulation of wealth and property becomes the priority.
 Slavery emerges as a result of social stratification.
Module 20: Examining the human being’s responsibility to the planet Earth

Types of Society
II. Industrial Society III. Post-Industrial Society
 This society provided more and better  Post-industrial society followed
opportunities. the industrial society.
 In this society, technologies were  It is characterized by its
developed that harnessed new forms of orientation towards knowledge
energy. Fields of specialization were and service.
also developed. Free public education  Education and technology
was established which escalated literacy. become very important in this
 The ease of speed and travel and society. Human relationships are
communication dramatically increased. now mostly mediated by
 Health practices were enhanced. computers.
Module 23: Examining the Types of Society
The Philosophy of Confucius
 The human being is a social being. He/she is always with his/her fellow human beings.
Thus, it is said that no human being is an island.
 This idea was captured by the Chinese philosopher Confucius in his principle of Ren/Jen.
Ren/Jen, according to Confucius, signifies our awareness of the presence of other
people in our lives. We are always conscious of the presence other human beings.
 Ren/Jen, however, is more than that. It is the principle of moral action. This means
that the origin of our actions must always be our fellowmen.
 Putting it differently, our actions must always take into consideration the presence of
other people.
 Ren/Jen is also the principle of moral justification, that is, the rightness or the
wrongness of our actions is to be judged whether it hurts or it promotes other
persons.
Module 23: Examining the Types of Society
The Philosophy of Confucius
Aside from the insight on Ren/Jen, Confucius claims that the human as a social being
implies that he/she lives in a society – that he/she is a member of a society.

 Being a member of the society, the human being has tasks or responsibilities .
 These duties or responsibilities of the human being in the society are found in his/or her
social names.
 Social names refer to the names that the human being has as a member of the society, like
father, mother, brother, sister, teacher, student, leader, and follower.
 According to Confucius, if your name is a father, then it is your duty to live and act as a
father to your children…
 Confucius claims that since the human being has so many social names, then he/she has
many duties or responsibilities. The human being may be a father, a son, a teacher, a
husband, and so on.
Module 24: Exploring Social Institutions
The Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas
It is said that one can never love other persons if he/she does not know how to love his or her own self.

 However, According to Emmanuel Levinas, we human beings do not really know how to
love ourselves for the simple reason that we do not know really what is too much and what is
too little for ourselves.
 We do not really know what is enough for us. The word “enough” is in the Webster’s
Dictionary but it is not really present in the human vocabulary. For this reason, human
satisfaction or contentment appears to be almost impossible to achieve.
 As such, love that begins at home, usually ends at home.
 Hence, Emmanuel Levinas claims that we will learn how to love ourselves only if we have
learned how to love other people.
“matututunan mo lang kung paano mahalin ang iyong sarili kung alam mo na kung paano mahalin ang iyong
kapwa, matututunan mo lang kung paano pahalagahan ang iyong sarili kung alam mo na kung paano pahalagahan
ang iyong kapwa.”
Module 24: Exploring Social Institutions
The Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas

 By analogy, we should perform our responsibilities to other people first before

our responsibilities to ourselves.
 In the first place responsibility is essentially not for us. It is for the other
people.
 In the words of Levinas: “I understand responsibility as responsibility for the
other, thus, as responsibility for what is not my deed, or for what does not
even matter to me; or which is precisely does matter to me, is met by me as
face. Usually, one is responsible for what one does oneself. I say that
responsibility is initially for the other. This means that I am responsible for his
responsibility. Responsibility is to and for the other.”
Module 25: Articulating the philosophy Confucius
On Death
 Death is viewed differently by different fields and individuals. From the legal-medical
perspective, death is the irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or
the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. A
person shall be medically and legally dead if either:
1. an absence of natural respiratory and cardiac functions and, attempts at resuscitation
would not be successful in restoring those functions. In this case, death shall be deemed to
have occurred at the time these functions ceased; or
2. an irreversible cessation of all brain functions; and considering the absence of such
functions, further attempts at resuscitation or continued supportive maintenance would not be
successful in resorting such natural functions.
From the religious perspective, death is the transition-a shift from earthly life to the life after.
From the existential perspective, death is the transition from “being to “non-being” that
terminates all the possibilities of a temporal beings.
Module 25: Articulating the philosophy Confucius
On Death
 From the Buddhist’s perspective, death is the cessation of the connection
between our mind and our body.
 Most people believe that death takes place when the heart stops beating; but
this does not mean that the person has died, because his subtle mind may still
remain in his body.
 Death occurs when the subtle consciousness finally leaves the body to go to
the next life.
 Our body is like a guesthouse and our mind like the guest; when we die our
mind has to leave this body and enter the body of our next rebirth, like a
guest leaving one guesthouse and travelling to another.
Module 25: Articulating the philosophy Confucius

On Death
 The mind is neither physical, nor a by-product of purely physical processes,
but is a formless continuum that is a separate entity from the body.
 When the body disintegrates at death the mind does not cease. Although our
superficial conscious mind ceases, it does so by dissolving into a deeper
level of consciousness, the very subtle mind; and the continuum of the very
subtle mind has no beginning and no end.
 It is this mind which, when thoroughly purified, transforms into the
omniscient mind of a Buddha.
Module 26: Reflecting on Death: Martin Heidegger (Part 1)

Martin Heidegger on Death

 According to Martin Heidegger, man is what he makes of himself.
 As such, he has overflowing potentialities and possibilities which are not
merely given to and enforced by the world to him, but are to be decided,
pursued, actualized, and realized by him.
 He has the potentialities and possibilities to be a doctor, a nurse, a
lawyer, an engineer, and the like.
 More so, these potentialities and possibilities are never exhausted.
 As long as he exists, there is always something yet to be settled in him
by him. There is always something out there to be done in him by him.
Module 26: Reflecting on Death: Martin Heidegger (Part 1)
Martin Heidegger on Death
 Now, according to Heidegger, one of the many possibilities of man is death.
 Death is a possibility because, like all other possibilities, its happening lies in the future.
Moreover, death is a unique possibility because in it man gains his wholeness.
 This does not mean , however, that all die fulfilled for many who already passed away
remain unfulfilled. Man gains his wholeness in death because man loses his potentialities
and his possibilities in death.
 There is nothing more to be done and can be done in death. In death, everything in man is
settled – everything is finished. Thus, death is man’s final act or the final event in man as a
being-in-theworld.
 In death, he cannot do anything anymore – he can be someone or somebody no more.
In death, his possibilities end. Thus, death is the impossibility of all other possibilities.