Bryan Norton “Environmental Ethics and Weak Anthropocentrism”

Reading and Discussion Questions - M. Blashill

1) According to Norton is it the worldview that creates the environmental ethic, or does the ethic help to create the worldview?  How about according to you?

2) To whom or what must the worldview be defensible, and against what standards?  If the worldview needs to be merely defensible, then is any worldview able to defend itself, and if so is any behavior allowable so long as it is defensible? 

3) If a worldview holds an intrinsic value for nature, then would it invalidate the environmental ethic Norton proposes?  Why or why not?

4) Norton argues that it is impossible to create an ethic based upon a consideration for future generations and that the use of finite (or irreplaceable) resources is justifiable if suitable replacements/substitutes can be found.  How might Norton handle issues like: Endangered species?  Fossil fuel to corn based fuel conversion and the dynamics of food availability (i.e. does the substitute have to be equal or better for the environment)?  Selective/cross breeding practices?  Pesticides, herbicides, etc?