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Environmental Philosophy and Human Freedom

The document explores various philosophical concepts related to environmental ethics, freedom, rights, and the meaning of life. It discusses the interplay between humanity and the natural environment, the role of social institutions, and different philosophical perspectives on existence and happiness. Key figures such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Viktor Frankl are referenced to illustrate differing views on society, self-interest, and the pursuit of meaning.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
44 views6 pages

Environmental Philosophy and Human Freedom

The document explores various philosophical concepts related to environmental ethics, freedom, rights, and the meaning of life. It discusses the interplay between humanity and the natural environment, the role of social institutions, and different philosophical perspectives on existence and happiness. Key figures such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Viktor Frankl are referenced to illustrate differing views on society, self-interest, and the pursuit of meaning.

Uploaded by

zarenecerillo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PHILOSOPHY Climate Ethics and Climate Justice

 Considers climate change as a


significant ethical, social, and
MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT political issue.
Environmental Justice

Environmental Philosophy  Fair distribution of environmental


benefits as well as the burden of
 Branch of Philosophy that is meeting environmental challenges
concerned with humanity’s place in
the natural environment Environmental Aesthetics
 Interaction between nature and  Nature using philosophical concepts
human activities and humanity’s of beauty
response to environmental  Beauty in nature
challenges
 Role humans play in causing Environmentalism
environmental challenges
 An important issue in international
Anthropocentrism- “man is the center” politics as governments and
international organizations
 Humans are the primary reason
of the changes in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997- reduce greenhouse
environment gas emissions

Deep Ecology Earth Day- global celebration indeed to raise


awareness of environmental issues and
 Believes that natural world is inspire actions
sustained by the interrelationship
among living organisms
 Living thing in the planet s
dependent on one another for FREEDOM
survival
 Human interference as a threat to the
Freedom or Liberty
natural world and all living things
 Social and political concept that has
Gaia Hypothesis
great significance to how people
 Organic and inorganic elements of participate in society
the Earth interact to sustain life on  Intellectual pondered the origins of
planet society and the state and nature of
human freedom
Theological Views
 Natural state- man depends on their
 Mankind is intended to leave in environment or nature
harmony with all the creation  In order to establish a society, people
 Man as active participant in the need to surrender their absolute
environment freedom in order to live in harmony
with others
Environmental Ethics
 Involves attention awareness and
 Human responsibility and action discipline
with regards to environmental issues  Protection of ethical values- Ten
Commandments
Social Ecology
 Ethical ad sociological approach in
dealing with social problems
 Man and environmental problems
POLITICAL FREEDOM Human Agency
Positive Liberty- Negative Liberty-  Refers to the capacity of a person to
person to take freedom from
act and exert control over his or her
control of his or her external restraints,
own behavior
own life and fulfill barriers, and other
his or her potential interferences from Human Acts- Acts of man-
other people. voluntary actions involuntary actions;
where the individual occur naturally in the
has a motive and full human being
knowledge of the
Liberalism action

 Preservation of individual rights and


stresses the role of the government in
protecting these civil liberties Faculties Model
 Individual who chooses for their self
and not the government  Free will as the use of our mental
faculties; free will due to our
Libertarianism intellect
 Individual is the best judge when it  Free will is innate and is exercised
comes to upholding and exercising through intellect
rights Hierarchical Model
Socialism  Based on wants and desires of a
 Freedom as the ability to acquire person that needs to be met
economic resources and the ability to Reason-Response View
work and act according to one’s
desires  Person shows he or she has free will
 Person’s interaction to society when he or she considers other
alternative or decides not to enact a
Theological views certain decision
 Define freedom as freedom from sin  How a person is going to react on a
and living a life of righteousness situation

RIGHTS Determinism
Natural Rights- Legal Rights- rights  This view believes that everything in
rights that are innate based on society’s reality has an underlying cause
in person (in born); customs and laws by
from the time you legislation and Moral Responsibility
were born enforced by
government  A person’s status as deserving praise
and reward, or blame and
punishment for an action

THE PERSON AND OTHERS


Self-awareness  Individual ceases to view the other
being
 Understanding of oneself as an
existing human being that recognizes Empathy
human existence
 Awareness and recognition that other
Individuality is a human is a human person with
thoughts and feelings
 Refers to the person’s awareness that
he or she should live his or her life Availability
on his or her own terms and live a
 Willingness of a person to be present
Authenticity and be at disposal of another
 Achieved once the individual’s Ethics of Care
thoughts, ideas, and actions express
 Moral dimension of relationship amd
and uphold his or her individuality
interactions; moral perspective
Self encourages individuals to see the
needs of other people
 Awareness of one’s individuality
Carol Giligan- human beings are inherently
Other
rational and independence is one of their
 Objects outside of personal essential properties
experience
Intersubjectivity
Being-with-Others
 Shared awareness and understanding
 Human person who continually seeks
among persons
and maintains harmonious
 Existence of shared and “common”
relationship
knowledge
Types of recognition by Philosopher Axel
Honneth: Love, respect, and social esteem

SEEMING- individual presents himself or


herself in a certain way when dealing with
other; or by taking roles or characters;
Martin Buber
Dialogue
 Deeper interaction of the self and the
other
 Genuine relationship among
established individuals
Monologue
 Distancing of the self from the other
Jean Paul Saltre- considers human
relationships frustrating, often inauthentic,
and ambiguous
Alienatjon
MAN AND SOCIETY THOMAS HOBBES

Society  Man in his natural state is selfish


 Man in his natural state is governed
 Group of large people who share the by his desires; leads to constant
same territory, culture, and heritage conflict with fellowmen
 Everyone has their part and goals  Individuals who establish societies
 They impart knowledge, skills, and enter “social contract” – individuals
behaviors sacrifice some of their rights in order
to submit to higher authority; to
Forms of Society
avoid conflict
1. Hunting and Gathering Societies  Society controls the natural desires
 Dependent on resources of humans to ensure order and
readily available from their harmony
surroundings
JOHN LOCKE
 “primitive”
2. Agricultural Societies  Man in his natural state as more
 Farming, fishing, and cooperative and reasonable
livestock-raising as a primary  Society is formed through the
way of life consent of the individuals that
3. Industrial Societies organize it; consent of the
 Centered on mechanized governed
production and the exchange  Covenant among individuals to
of goods and services cooperate and share the burden of
4. Modern Societies upholding the welfare or society
 Technology advanced  If the authority fails to uphold its
societies characterized by obligation it should be replaced
industry, mass production, with a new one
advance communication, and
transportation JEAN-JAQUES ROUSSEAU
 Advance in technology have  General will; comes from sovereign
enabled people to establish citizens, they entrust their will to the
“virtual societies” (e.g., government
social media, online message  The government is able to impose its
boards, and online games) will on the people
Social Philosophy  Man- considered to be the best judge
of what is most beneficial for the
 Focuses on studying society, its society
constructs, and its influence on the
human person JOHN RAWLS
 How social interaction shapes  Natural state- original position
people’s perception  Human beings approach social
cooperation in a rational manner in
order to meet their individual self-
HOW IS SOCIETY FORMED? interest
 Humans as having a “veil of
 They imagined humans as so living
ignorance” or no knowledge of their
in a so called “natural state”
own characteristics
 Tend to choose a society that is just
and fair to all

DAVID GAUTHIER
 Man’s self-interest as a significant  One can achieve meaning of life
factor in building and maintaining without the spiritual realm and
societies reject the influence of
 Person’s self-interest benefit society supernatural forces
because his or her actions to meet his  Subjectivism – individual as the
or her needs and desires end up one who defines his or her own
meeting the needs of other members life; depends on a person
of the society  Objectivism – no subjective
bases for life’s meaning; certain
JEAN PAUL SARTRE
standards and goals worth
 Considers human relationship as attaining by all persons
frustrating and are inauthentic
Nihilistic View
EDITH STEIN
 Futile and irrelevant to ponder the
 Define the self and other relationship question of life’s meaning
as being driven by empathy  Existence unknowable, chaotic and
irrational; attaining meaning in
one’s are impossible
SOCIAL INSTITUTION  Don’t search for their purpose in life

F – Family (reproduce)
E – Education WHAT IS LIFE’S PURPOSE?

R – Religion ST. AUGUSTINE

G – Government (society & laws)  Life will be only complete and finite
with God
E – Economy (goods & services)  Man seeks satisfaction and eventual
happiness in God’s love
THE MEANING OF LIFE SOREN KIERKEGAARD

Existentialism  Existence as a person’s journey


toward self – actualization
 Philosophy that seeks to understand  Stages in his or her personal
human existence and the significance progression in to self-actualization
of human experience - Aesthetic Stage – actions of a
 Focuses on the ability of an person are governed by his or her
individual to make a choice and senses, impulses, and emotions
commit to them - Ethical Stage – person develops
 Major existential questions revolve an awareness of universal of
around one’s identity, existence, universal moral standards that
choices, purpose, and our own guide his or her actions and
definition of the meaning of life choices
- Religious Stage – person is able
to devote himself or herself to a
Supernaturalist View higher standard or purpose in life
(e.g., Saint); giving everything to
 Life gains meaning from a
God
relationship with divine – GOD
 Kierkegaard considers movement
 God defines life’s meaning by
from the moral stage to the religious
assigning a purpose to the person; we
stage as LEAP OF FAITH – where a
are all created for a reason
person recognizes and accepts the
Naturalist View need for a relationship with God
VIKTOR FRANKL or she is happy or “in a good
mood”
 Each person seeks to fine meaning in
life by applying certain values
 Can be evaluation of one’s
 Man has WILL TO MEANING,
experience in life
person’s innate character that drives
him or her to find meaning in life
 Being happy means having a
 One can achieve meaning in life by
satisfying life that goes well with
applying creative, experiential, and
the person living it
attitudinal values
CREATIVE VALUES  Eudaimonia – good spirit –
person’s state of well – being and
 Creation or achievement of happiness
something worthwhile in life
EXPERIENTIAL VALUES  Plato – equates happiness with
leaving a moral life, practicing
 Interaction with the world and other virtues, fulfilling personal and
people and experiences of positive political duties, and controlling
aspects of life (e.g., goodness, truth, one’s desire
and beauty)
 Appreciating the beauty of nature  Aristotle – happiness is the
and establishing meaningful primary reason for human action
relationship with others
ATTITUDINAL VALUES  Epicurus – happiness means a life
of peace and free form fear and
 Adoption of positive attitude and discomfort; an individual achieves
outlook toward negative experiences a calm and serene life not through
(e.g., suffering) and making materials things but finding inner
meaningful choices in facing these peace
adversities
ABURDISM  St. Augustine and St. Thomas –
happiness as union with God; a
 This view encourages people to person’s life is lived for sole
accept that existence is unknowable purpose of achieving unity with
and that finding meaning and the Diving
happiness in one’s life is impossible
LOGOTHERAPY Utilitarianism – View on happiness based
 Method encourages people to accept in greatest happiness principle; states that
that existence is unknowable and that a person’s actions are considered to be
finding meaning and happiness in moral or desirable when they produce the
one’s life is impossible greatest happiness for other people

HOPE Whole Life Satisfaction – person is able to


evaluate his or her life experiences and
 Considered a natural an inevitable
determine his or her level of satisfaction
response to trials and despair, and t
with how she or he lived life
encourages the person to continue
living despite difficulties

 One can be interpreted as a state


of mind; a person can say that he

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