Essay Sample on Environmental Ethics: Naturalness

Introduction

Environmental ethics is a concept of environmental philosophy which incorporates the traditional purviews of morality to include both people and nonliving things found on earth. The state or quality of being natural is known as naturalness. The essence of environmental ethics entails the elucidation of the value of naturalness and participation in debates to propose upholding such principles by the public. The use of fertilizers, the practice of biological farming, and the use of greenhouses are farming practices that are influenced by the necessity of naturalness and the values that foster this concept.

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Nevertheless, the idea of naturalness can be interpreted in two different ways concerning environmental ethics. First, naturalness can be construed as a physical property of species and ecosystems. Second, one can explain naturalness as the quality of the process that is free of human mediation. The need to preserve the aesthetic value of the environment inspires the choice of benchmarks for naturalness. That said, the primary objective of this paper is to discuss the relationship between the naturalness of species and ecosystems. Besides, this paper aims to explore the naturalness of processes. This article also describes the value of natural processes or aesthetics.

The Naturalness of Species and Ecosystems

In environmental ethics, assessment of the naturalness of species and ecosystems is based on historical accounts. For example, living things whose existence within a particular ecological setting was established before the benchmark date are commonly known as natural, native or aboriginal. However, species whose presence within a specific milieu was a result of human involvement are known as unnatural, exotic or human-made. These benchmarks represent a compromise between the notion that naturalness excludes human-made activities and perception that all human actions are natural (Malaterre, 2016). That said, for ecologists, selecting an appropriate benchmark date is fundamental in setting ecofriendly primacies. These dates are theoretical, and they do not apply in regions whose vegetation has been influenced by human interference.

The period industrialization was the benchmark date which had a significant effect on the environment. For example, during the industrial revolution, some insects underwent mutation to adapt to changes in the ecology. For instance, the evolution of light-colored peppered moth to a dark-colored moth during the industrial revolution was a reverse color change response by the moths to blend in the polluted environment. However, this incidence does not guarantee to select industrialization as the priority benchmark date over others. Even the ecological impact of industrial development has been significant, and this effect has not always been unparalleled. If anything, the impact of past human actions was more significant compared to the advent of industrialization. The choice of a particular historical benchmark reflects the need to preserve biodiversity, and to avert extinction of endangered species. Thus, concern for biodiversity is a key motivating factor for the selection of recent historical benchmarks for naturalness. Naturalness, in that perspective, offers a neutral standard for evaluating the acceptability of bionetwork modification and the suitability of preservation strategies.

The Naturalness of Processes

Describing naturalness based on process functions is different from the concept analyzed relative to historical biodiversity. Artlessness as a depiction of processes permits the classification of many human artifacts as natural without referring to nature. This type of naturalness includes natural foodstuffs and drugs, naturally conception of babies, and inherent physical and psychological capabilities. Many modern Western cultures value this interpretation of naturalness. Things are described as natural because of two primary reasons. Firstly, because they integrate smoothly with nature compared to their less natural equivalents. This element is useful in informing individuals' opinions of the naturalness of organic farming.

As well, it mirrors the standard criteria for measuring the value of nature on organic farms. However, the primary drawback of this approach to naturalness is its limited scope. Alignment with nature develops its importance from the value attached to nature, which does not apply to all circumstances to which the term naturalness can be used. Secondly, the notion that not all processes influenced by human beings are atypical to the same degree defines the naturalness of processes. This factor can be interpreted concerning the extent to which the processes are coherent with nature. Also, the definition of an unnatural scope is based on the relationship between a person and the general public. For example, diverting a river course to irrigate land is not a natural process because it is a result of human intent, and the naturalness of this process varies according to the attribution of the intentions.

The Value of Natural Processes

The value of naturalness often reflects the significance of untouched nature, defined by the nonexistence of human involvement. This section of the paper reviews the value of unobstructed nature which conforms to the principle that human beings should respect the self-sufficiency of nature as a moral requirement, much as they respect the autonomy of others. This value is exemplified by the perspective that the degradation of value resulting from human actions in nature results from the repudiation of the independence and the self-realization of unnatural things (Siipi, 2016). Even so, when a person holds something as valuable for its worth, and subsequently as a measure of decency, he or she does so in virtue of his/her respect for its autonomy.

Therefore, the lack of human intervention has value as a countenance of the proper human interaction with nature. However, explaining the value of naturalness without refuting the correct determination of nature is insufficient. The reason is that this definition does not incorporate human inspirations. Even so, this description is not founded on values free of human emotions. That being said, human beings should strive to preserve the self-sufficiency of nature because of its aesthetic value. The justification of this value takes the form of positive aesthetics, whereby all natural entities possess aesthetic value by being a product of human intention. Additionally, research shows that ancient Europeans associated the love for nature with Agape Love. Today, the attitudes toward the aesthetic significance of nature are grounded in theistic origins.

Conclusion

Natural species are entities whose existence in the ecosystem is a result of human activities. Unnatural species, on the other hand, are a product of human intervention. The evaluation of naturalness based on a historical benchmark of biodiversity is necessary for determining the risk factors of ecological alteration. Description of naturalness according to processes necessitates the grouping of many human objects as natural without mentioning the word nature. The value of naturalness depicts the importance of undisturbed nature, characterized by the absence of human intervention. The value of unhindered nature is relative to the principle that humans should respect the autonomy of nature as an ethical obligation, much as they respect the independence of others. In conclusion, humans should preserve the natural environment to maintain the value of nature.

References

Malaterre, C. (2016). The challenges of microbial diversity. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Biodiversity, 139.

Siipi, H. (2016). Biodiversity and human-modified entities. In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Biodiversity. Routledge London.