Environmental Ethics

Aldo Leopold renowned environmental scientist and forester in the US had raised a few basic issues to highlight man and nature relationship. Leopold tried to show the ethical responsibility of man toward nature. (Read more: Aldo Leopold, ‘A Sand County Almanac’ Pub: Dover Publications, N.Y)

Leopold is critical about man’s attitude toward nature. Man has evolved various ethical and rational norms for their society whereas never proposed anything to save the ecology. Until man is in danger man has never cared for their neighbour. The question arises, if man could evolve such rationality towards its society members, why doesn’t it extend to the other members of the biotic society? Man as a member of the vast biotic community needs to understand the importance of such attitude to be extended to the other members as well. Ethics for human society if extended to other members it would certainly create a greater harmony and respect towards the other fellow members. In order to do so, a 'limitation on freedom of action' (discipline) is a necessary component. The disciplined citizen with ‘freedom of mind’ would create the ideal societal environment for the democratic governance. The limitation (discipline) would create a better understanding and respectful attitude toward other members (in wider sense). By exercising such limitation, the present role of human being would 'change from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it'. Aldo Leopold writes in his book entitled A Sand County Almanac, “... a land ethic changes the role of Homo-Sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow members, and also respect for the community as such.”

Methods and tools

• Each person is rooted to their cultural heritage. Therefore, every design process has to adopt methods and tools that are associated with the local, national and other cultural ethos.
• Traditionally every design revolves around sound ethical reasoning. Therefore each design has to consider ethically appropriate mechanism that would harmonize with the design process and ethics.
• Each project has to be developed based on group-based methods involving larger groups for the acceptance in the society.