Lecture B Ethical Issues

Overview • Introduction • What does ethics mean?

• Why talk about ethics?

• Our religions • Sustainable ethics • The “Commons” • Conclusions

What Does Ethics Mean?

Dictionary: “A discipline dealing with what is good and bad, with moral duty and obligation”

Why Talk About Ethics?

• A sense of right and wrong has to be built into every level of society: -individual -community -nation -planet

Role of Religion Religion, properly understood, is a belief system that summons up that which is most noble in us, it lifts us up, and appeals to the highest and best selves.

Current Believe System Our current and dominant belief system, grounded in economism, appeals to our lowest selves, drawing out greed, fear and small mindedness. It is based on domination, specialization and competition.

Principles of Economism 1. Other forms of life are for human use - human domination of nature - earth viewed as dead 2. There are no limits to growth and consumption - resource supplies infinite -emphasis on consumption and constant growth 3. Decisions are based on narrow economic concerns -”invisible hand”of market will guide society - concern for this generation only

more 4. Emphasis on the global economy and mass culture - globalization of economy leads to well-being - mass-media/machine mediation 5. Power is centralized and exercised - hierarchy/control - citizens don’t need to get involved in politics

Result of Economism • Overpopulation • Overconsumption

Why do we have overpopulation?

• Cultural • Lack of education • Sense of power for men (defining what is a man!) • Sense of security in old age • Breakdown of ethical value system

Why do we feel we need more stuff • Status • Missing non-material goals and values in life • Media manipulation

What We Need To Do Adopt a Sustainable Value System • Respect Life • Live Within Limits • Value the Local • Account for Full Costs • Share Power

Where?

– personally – within a community – within a country – internationally

Personally • Adopt a set of sustainable values • Apply these sets of values in once personal, professional and civic life

Business • Adopt and follow a set of sustainable principles • As a first step adopt one of the following principles: Valdez, CERES, Copernicus, Natural Step) • Determine the moral responsibilities to other life forms in our economic activities.

Community, Nation and International • Incorporate our moral concept of justice applicable to human interaction with non-human life forms and their eco-system.

• Change constitution to protect the natural world besides guaranteeing democracy, individual freedom and rights to property • Share power on all levels • Install full-cost accounting • Demonstrate concern for future generations • Define true need and steady state

What are Human Commons?

1. Historical and abandoned commons • Land for food gathering, pasture, hunting and mining • rivers and streams for fishing and water use 2. Partially abandoned commons • Land, rivers and ocean for various waste disposals • Oceans for fishing • Sound waves

Historical View at Land • Indigenous people: Land is part of a living being (Gaia, Mother Earth) • Europeans: Nature was considered passive relative to human (male) activities and associated with the female.

• Today's Dominant Culture: Land in its natural state is considered undeveloped and unproductive

The Tragedy of the Commons • Resources (taking things from the commons) • Pollution (putting things in the commons) • Legislative set-up and feedback (how to supervise needed authority and install corrective feedbacks)

The World’s Scientists Warning to Humanity Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know.

A great change is required if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievable mutilated.