The significance of environmental ethics

Should we be protecting the resources and state of the planet for our futures and for generations to come? Berni Dwan talks to Dr Brendan Myers about environmental ethics.

Many of us now recognise how significant our environmental impacts can be. Recognising that our environmental decisions have positive and negative impacts and considering their impact on future generations falls under the banner of ‘virtue ethics’. This subject was considered by Canadian Dr Brendan Myers while working on his thesis at National University of Ireland.

Questioning
The ambitious remit gave rise to questions on the environment, our impacts and the choices we make. Dr Myers states: “My question was whether the environment is ethically significant, and what that must ultimately mean for the choices we make individually, politically and collectively. I wanted to know whether there is a 'right' way of living in and with the natural world.

“I invented a way to think about our ethical responsibilities to future generations – in which an act that harms no one or infringes no one's rights is still considered to be morally wrong.”

The question of virtue ethics also gives rise to bigger questions about the kind of person we want to be, the life we want to live, and the significance of the environment and future generations.

Brendan believes that moral development is in response to, or in tandem with, the social and ecological world. “The morally correct way to treat the environment is to shape it into the kind of world in which we may flourish best as human beings.”

Tending to the environment
Although Brendan does not accept that the environment should be treated in a 'hands off' way, neither does he believe that we should consider ourselves lord and master of the natural world. “Rather, I think we should involve ourselves in the world, shaping it and making use of its natural processes as a gardener might do, in order to make the whole landscape of the Earth into a garden fit to be the dwelling place of a peaceful and fully flourishing human community.”

Brendan concludes that making politicians take notice is key: “It cannot be for lack of scientific or technical know-how that pollution and resource depletion continues to ruin our landscapes and make life hard for millions of people. If we want to change the world for the better, all we need do is muster the political will.”