The "artifact" I selected is a video lecture on environmental ethics. It defines the term as, "The moral relationship of human beings to the environment and its nonhuman contents."This video discusses the question of whether or not it is acceptable for humans to control nature and wipeout entire species. The speaker mentions the point of view that humans were created in God's image, and because we were created as the dominant species, we have the right to control nature. He also discusses the thought that by doing so, we are doing God's work, and that allowing nature to live on its own would be a sin. The speaker, however, does not agree with those thoughts. He feels that a tree should have the "same legal standing as a house." He says that deforestation is like an "environmental genocide." The speaker discusses two philosophers who fought for nature's rights. The first is Aldo Leopald, who said that, "Humans are part of the world and not conquerors of it." The second he mentions is John Muir, who said, "The World does not exist for man's use, but it exists apart from humans as its own community." He contradicted the thoughts mentioned at the beginning of the video by stating that God created all of the other organisms in the world as well, so what makes humans more valuable? The speaker states that he doesn't believe nature will ever have equal rights due to its importance in human life. He feels that human control cannot be eliminated, but he does state that it needs to be limited in order to preserve the world for future generations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dguYC_qlF48
You made some excellent points and I appreciate all the literary references. It's interesting how most people assume humans are superior to nature without also being a part of it. When companies decide to implement fracking, they are sacrificing the immediate environment (including humans, ironically enough) for the sake of their own personal gain. By using it for our own purposes, we become responsible for its continuation. As the saying goes, "With great power comes great responsibility."
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