Deck 16: Environmental Ethics

Question 1

In Deep Ecology, through what means is happiness gained?

A)Through simple communion with one's local ecosystem.
B)Through meditation and deep thought.
C)Through possession of things.
D)Through the search for satisfaction of wants and desires.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

How, in Aldo Leopold's ethics, are right actions to be distinguished from wrong ones?

A)Right actions ensure the continuity of the natural world for future generations; wrong actions rob them of that inheritance.
B)Right actions act in such a way that all members of the biotic community could will them simultaneously; wrong actions use some members as means.
C)Right actions tend to preserve the stability and beauty of nature; wrong actions tend to do otherwise.
D)Right actions preserve nature as a productive resource for valuable ends; wrong actions destroy it.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Ecocentrists are distinguished by their rejection of the anthropocentric idea that .

A)Only humans have intrinsic value.
B)The environment does not matter.
C)Endangered species are of no concern.
D)Global warming is not a true concept.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Because human interests in a livable environment often compete with other human economic interests, many find cost-benefit analyses useful for judging, weighing, and comparing benefits and costs.

Question 5

The word environment comes from an Old French word meaning

A)Nature.
B)Earth.
C)Turning around in.
D)A small boat.

Question 6

To say that a wilderness has prima facie value means that it must be preserved no matter what the cost to do so.

Question 7

Some ecofeminists believe that the source of our environmental problems lies in the fact that we relate to nature by trying to assert dominance over it.

Question 8

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.

Question 9

What does a biocentrist/ecocentrist believe?

A)A biocentrist believes that biology, not nurture, is the major determining factor in human development.
B)A biocentrist believes that only biology can supply answers to fundamental problems facing the environment.
C)A biocentrist believes that intrinsic value is not limited to humans
D)A biocentrist believes that biological organisms may have a higher moral status than cyborgs, but they are not as physiologically advanced.

Question 10

According to anthropocentrism, what has intrinsic value?

A)Humans only.
B)Humans and the resources necessary to sustain human life.
C)All intelligent life.
D)The entire ecosystem.

Question 11

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
If there is no overriding reason to pluck the flower then I ought to let it be for its own good is to continue existing.

Question 12

The article by William Baxter utilized primarily reasoning.

A)Natural law
B)Ecocentric
C)Relativism
D)Anthropocentric

Question 13

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
We ought to be concerned with the "greenhouse effect" and the resulting climate changes that may make life unfit for human beings.

Question 14

The view known as deep ecology is most essentially concerned with the idea that people depend on their environment in many ways.

Question 15

Cost benefit analyses involve both assessments and evaluations.

Question 16

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
I'm going to work for that anti-pollution measure because if it doesn't pass even my own local rivers will be damaged, and then my health might be endangered and my sports and aesthetic interests in the rivers threatened.

Question 17

What does it mean for ecocentrists to regard a tree or a fish as a moral patient?

A)It means that we must care for these life forms as a medical doctor cares for patients.
B)It means that we must care for these life forms for their own sake, and not just for the sake of how it might ultimately impact us.
C)It means that we can have indirect, rather than direct duties to these life forms.
D) It means that we must, like physicians, "do no harm" when it comes to these life forms.

Question 18

The old Native American saying, "before you act, consider the consequences on the next seven generations," is best described as what kind of thinking?

A)Ecocentrism
B)Utilitarianism
C)Anthropocentric
D)Relativistic

Question 19

Ecocentrism relies on what form of moral reasoning?

A)Utilitarianism
B)Kantian
C)Relativism
D)Natural law

Question 20

Anthropocentrists value nature for its own sake.

Question 21

What is the main disagreement, as described in your text, between ecofeminism and deep ecology. How does this difference affect the way the two perspectives approach environmental advocacy? When answering, be sure to consider the diversity of views within the ecofeminist tradition.

Question 22

What is Transcendentalism? Name some main proponents of Transcendentalism and discuss both its precedents as well as its influence on subsequent environmental movements. Which contemporary approaches to environmental ethics strike you as closest to the Transcendentalists?

Question 23

Which of the following philosophical movements does your text associate with American Transcendentalism?

A)Existentialism
B)Utilitarianism
C)Romantic idealism
D)Empiricism

Question 24

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
We ought to preserve wildernesses because they provide a place for personal rejuvenation, and aesthetic and mystic experiences.

Question 25

Contrast an anthropocentric and an ecocentric view on deforestation. Consider specific forms of each approach, and the way each employs the various moral perspectives you've learned about in your text. Which approach do you most agree with, and why?

Question 26

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
If we destroy that species, then our children and our children's children will not be able to enjoy it.

Question 27

Label as Anthropocentric (A)or Ecocentric (E):
We ought to preserve the tropical rain forests because they are the sole source of lifesaving medicines like quinine, our most potent weapon against malaria.