Ethics and Human – Centered Environmental Ethics. Sentient – Centered Ethics

Sentient animals are those which feel pain and pleasure. This version of Nature-centered ethics  is advanced  by some  utilitarians,  notably  Peter  Singer,  who  says  that  right  action maximizing good for all should include sentient animals as well as humans. Failure to do so leads discrimination like racism, which is known as ‘Speciesism’. There is always a dispute as to whether the inherent worth of animals can be equated to human beings or not.

Bio – Centric Ethics

This regards all living organisms as having inherent worth. We should live with the virtue of ‘reverence to life’, as set forth by Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965). This will enable us to take decisions about when life can be sacrificed.

Eco centric Ethics

This locates inherent  worth in Ecological  systems and this approach is different  from the other two, as it is not individualistic. This is voiced by Aldo Leopold (1887-1948). There is another view that ecocentric ethic does not replace socially generated human-oriented duties to family, neighbor’s and humanity

Human – Centered Environmental Ethics

This is an extension of ethical theories to combat threats to human beings presented by the destruction of nature.