The Land Ethic, Moral Development, and Ecological Rationality

Starkey, Charles

doi:10.1111/j.2041-6962.2007.tb00047.x

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…See also Dennett (1987). 48 For more on framing and moral cognition see Starkey (2007a). think was unchanged -standard intelligence tests indicated that he was perfectly normal in terms of both cognitive ability and personality. Damasio observes that:…”

Section: Emotion and Full Understandingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Emotion and Full Understanding

Starkey

2008

Ethic Theory Moral Prac

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Aristotle has famously made the claim that having the right emotion at the right time is an essential part of moral virtue. Why might this be the case? I consider five possible relations between emotion and virtue and argue that an adequate answer to this question involves the epistemic status of emotion, that is, whether the perceptual awareness and hence the understanding of the object of emotion is like or unlike the perceptual awareness of an unemotional awareness of the same object. If an emotional awareness does not have a unique character, then it is unlikely that emotions provide an understanding that is different from unemotional states of awareness: they are perhaps little more than "hotblooded" instances of the same understanding. If, on the other hand, an emotional state involves a perceptual awareness that is unique to the emotion, then emotions are cognitively significant, providing an understanding of the object of the emotion that is absent in a similar but unemotional episode of awareness. I argue the latter and substantiate the claim that emotions are essential to moral virtue because they can be essential to a full understanding of the situations that they involve. In such cases, emotions are not merely a symptom of the possession of an adequate understanding, but are rather necessary for having an adequate understanding.Aristotle has famously made the claim in the Nicomachean Ethics that having the right emotion at the right time is an essential part of virtue. He believes that:It is moral virtue that is concerned with emotions and actions, and it is in emotions and actions that excess, deficiency and the median are found. Thus we can experience fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and generally any kind of pleasure and pain either too much or too little, and in either case not properly. But to experience this at the right

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Section: Emotion and Full Understandingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Emotion and Full Understanding

Starkey

2008

Ethic Theory Moral Prac

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“…As with ethical thinking generally, this shift impacted Leopoldian scholarship. Increasing numbers of commentators argued that, rather than putting forward a goal-based or action-based ethic, Leopold's land ethic implies a fundamental change in moral perspective and character (Liszka, 2003;Shaw, 1997;Starkey, 2007). While the land ethic provides guidance on proper goals and actions, commentators argued its primary focus hones in on virtuous human character, and the need for humanity to expand its way of thinking and emotionally responding not only to other humans, but to animals, life, and the land itself.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourism and Aldo Leopold's “cultural harvest”: creating virtuous tourists as agents of sustainability

Breakey

2014

Journal of Sustainable Tourism

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Sustainable tourism aims to achieve a balance between the needs of tourists, the environment, local people, and businesses-a situation complicated by the numerous ethical issues at play. In this paper we present an original account of the ethics of Aldo Leopold, as it unfolds in his classic work, A Sand County Almanac. We argue that prior interpretations failed to incorporate Leopold's lynchpin cultural harvest idea into his larger 'land ethic', and that a proper understanding of the cultural harvest reveals how tourism and other recreational activities can drive a person's ethical development. Ultimately, the land ethic helps us protect and nurture the most precious sustainability resource: human beings that value and respect the environment.

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“…It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such' (A. Leopold, 1949, p. 240; see also Starkey, 2007).…”

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confidence: 96%

“…A major criticism of Leopold's land ethic is that it favors land over people; that following the land ethic would mean privileging the biotic community and condemning human civilization, a form of 'environmental fascism' (Starkey, 2007). This is a misguided criticism.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…The capitalist landowner, generally fearful of making long-term investments, avoids investing money in forestry, soil, and water conservation. Inherent in this objection to the land ethic is that rather than being an alternative to an 'economic' perspective on environmental issues, Leopold's land ethic 'merely broadens the range of economic considerations to be used in addressing such issues' (Starkey, 2007).…”

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Land Ethic? What Land Ethic?

Steele

2011

Ethics, Policy & Environment

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SIR: Your editorial in the Oct. 4 issue, "A land ethic," by Karen Joy Skinner, is both well-stated and well-timed. The chemical industry and chemical research have been major contributors to current technologies which have a bearing on the ecology of the land, and it is exciting and. sanguine for them to be developing a concern about the effects of their technologies on land and the relation of their enterprise to a land ethic. The identification in your editorial of the chem ical and biochemical areas which should be of special concern in the near future is very per ceptive. And the sense of urgency combined with a healthy optimism about the possibilities shown in the editorial is both intelligent and re freshing. SIR: At last the NAS ozone study has appeared. But, it seems, we are no closer to the real an swer. Your short review (C&EN, Sept. 27, page 16) brought us up to date, but perhaps the real question has not been asked: Has there been a significant increase in the relative intensity of the UV radiation component of sunlight in the past few years? Surely, someone has made measurements, even decades ago, that could be used to answer this question. I hope someone is making mea surements now. The half-life of the ozone con troversy is at least a tenth of the time (40 to 50 years) estimated for the ozone concentration to reach half of its steady-state value, so we ought to be able to see a trend in relative UV intensity over four to five years. Thus, it seems to me that a few years of spectral monitoring data judged with respect to fluorocarbon production ought to show a definite increase in the UV component of sunlight, if the Rowland-Molina hypothesis is true. Let's hear from those workers in insolation who have made the measurements or let's get started if we have forgotten to collect the basic data. E. L. Lippert Jr., Ph.D. Corporate Technology, Owens-Illinois, Toledo Integrated science program SIR: It is gratifying to learn that at long last efforts are being made, such as the NSF funded pro gram at Northwestern University (C&EN, Sept. 27, page 17), to educate scientists with a knowledge of all the sciences, i.e. generalists. As noted in a speech some years back by Richard W. Lyman, Stanford University presi dent, the need for generalists has never been greater "to keep the tribes of specialists from running into each other." Could excessive specialization in medical sciences in absence of generalists be a limiting factor responsible for the slow progress in medical sciences despite prolific spending? It is noteworthy that one of the National Institutes of Health lists the laboratories of biochemical metabolism, biochemical phar macology, experimental pathology, chemistry, chemical physics, physical biology, biophysical chemistry, molecular biology, chemical biology, inter alia, in its organizational structure. Is such extreme specialization not a 20th century analog to the biblical Tower of Babel? As one with a science background more di verse than any planned program could possibly offer, I s...

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The Land Ethic, Moral Development, and Ecological Rationality

Cited by 7 publications

References 15 publications

Emotion and Full Understanding

Emotion and Full Understanding

Tourism and Aldo Leopold's “cultural harvest”: creating virtuous tourists as agents of sustainability

Land Ethic? What Land Ethic?

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