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Environmental Values

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Environmental Values

The Consequentialistic Side of Environmental Ethics

Environmental Values 6(1997): 87-96. doi: 10.3197/096327197776679211

There are two principles often found in environmental ethics - self-realisation and environmental preservation. I argue that these are two logically independent principles. An analysis of its essential features shows that the preservation principle should be based on actual consequentialism, for it is only the actual effects of our actions and policies that are important to the main issues of environmental preservation. Aldo Leopold's land ethic is found to be an example of a consequentialistic theory of environmental preservation.

KEYWORDS: Anthropocentrism, consequentialism, deep ecology, environmental preservation, land ethic

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