Land ethic
Land ethic is a philosophical perspective that views humans as integral members of the ecosystem rather than its masters. Originating from Aldo Leopold’s influential essay in his 1949 book, "A Sand County Almanac," this concept emphasizes the moral obligation humans have to respect and maintain the natural environment for the benefit of all living beings, not just humanity. It argues for a holistic moral community that includes not only humans but also soil, water, plants, and animals, thereby recognizing the intrinsic value of all forms of life.
This nonanthropocentric perspective has been gaining traction in various societal and political contexts, shaping environmental ethics and policies. It encourages actions that promote the integrity and stability of ecosystems on both local and global scales. The evolution of this ethical framework has influenced significant international documents and initiatives, such as the U.N. World Charter for Nature and the Brundtland Report, which advocate for sustainable human development that respects ecological processes. Ongoing discussions about the scope of moral responsibilities toward different forms of life and future generations continue to enrich the discourse surrounding land ethics.
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Land ethic
Land ethic is a nonanthropocentric ethical perspective on the relationship between human beings and the natural environment.
Definition
Land ethic is a nonanthropocentric perspective of ethics in which Homo sapiens are seen as simply a member of the and not as the master of the Earth. It is also the title of one of Aldo Leopold’s essays, included in A Sand County Almanac (1949), one of the most influential books ever published on the ethics of modern nature and one of the founding texts of environmental ethics. From this perspective, other nonhuman entities have in their own right a place on the planet, a concept that imposes on humans the duty to respect and preserve the integrity and stability of the natural environment for present and future generations of all living beings.
Overview
The relevant moral community, or the entities to whom a particular set of moral duties and obligations applies, has three dimensions: biological, temporal, and geographical. In the anthropocentric perspective of ethics, the relevant moral community includes only Homo sapiens, while in the nonanthropocentric perspective (biocentrism, ecocentrism, ecofeminism, and deep ecology) the moral community is holistic and includes other nonhuman entities. This means that the moral community also includes, as Leopold said, soil, water, plants, and animals—or, in a single word, the entire Land. Therefore, all forms of life have an intrinsic value and deserve moral concern independently of their utilitarian value for humans. However, whether this means only sentient forms of life or also nonsentient forms, and whether this is a responsibility toward individuals or groups of individuals such as species, ecosystems, or ecological communities, remains open for debate. This enlarged and holistic responsibility to other forms of life extends also to future generations and to other geographic areas—in fact, to the entire Earth ecosystem. From a nonanthropocentric point of view, only those actions that tend to preserve the integrity and stability of the ecosystems at a local and global scale can be considered correct.
Since Leopold first enunciated the basic principles of his land ethic in the 1940s, nonanthropocentric perspectives gained gradual acceptance in society and in political discourses. Though the 1972 UN Stockholm Declaration on the Environment may be within the anthropocentric ethical paradigm, documents and policies adopted by the United Nations in relation to the environment in the 1980s and afterward reflected increasingly nonanthropocentric and nonconsequentialist perspectives. That was the case of the UN World Charter for Nature (1982), which stated the principle that human needs should be fulfilled with full respect for the essential natural processes; the creation, in 1983, of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, which produced the landmark report Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report; the subsequent developments associated with the Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and conventions on other environmental issues.
Bibliography
Beatley, Timothy. Ethical Land Use: Principles of Policy and Planning. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
“The Land Ethic.” The Leopold Legacy, The Aldo Leopold Foundation, www.aldoleopold.org/AldoLeopold/landethic.shtml. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016.
Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac. Updated ed. Topeka, Kans.: Topeka Bindery, 2000.
Lorbiecki, Marybeth. A Fierce Green Fire: Aldo Leopold’s Life and Legacy. 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 2016. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1168281&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016.
Meine, Curt. "Aldo Leopold's Call for a 'Land Ethic' Is Still Needed, as We Grapple with a Social and Environmental Crisis." Trellis, 24 July 2024, trellis.net/article/aldo-leopolds-call-land-ethic-still-needed-we-grapple-social-and-environmental-crisis/. Accessed 23. Dec. 2024.
Silva, Carlos Nunes. “Urban Planning and Ethics.” In Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, edited by Jack Rabin. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2005.