Environmental Ethics

Nowadays, people face the global ecological problems caused by the industrial and technological development of the humankind. So as to decrease the negative impact on the nature, researchers investigate various chemicals that may be not so harmful and more economical. However, before their usage, it is always necessary to test their possible ecological consequences with the help of laboratory animals that die at the end of such experiments. There are many views on the current environmental ethics problems, and one of them is the approach of biocentric individualism, which argues that such experiments are immoral because they violate the rights of animals. In my opinion, this ethical position is justified and can be applied to Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphate case.

The position of biocentric individualism formula

ted by Taylor emphasizes the significance of every creature and object of nature, which human beings have to respect as the ones possessing equal rights. All organisms are the members of the global community and embody the highest value because they are living creatures, and life is the most valuable thing. Due to this fact, the relationships between people and other creatures are egalitarian. This means that human beings are not superior to other organisms. Consequently, it is wrong to take the life of others because it demonstrates the inequality of rights and worthiness of living creatures.

The analyzed case study raises a sum of ethical issues that have a character of the dilemma. On the one hand, it emphasizes the will of the researchers to solve the global ecological problems so as to protect the ecosystems from damage caused by humans. On the other hand, so as to solve this significant problem, the researchers have to violate the most general ethical rule of the respect for any life. This means that the rabbits have to become the victims of the investigation of the life-saving chemical that can reduce the gasoline and oil consumption, and thus, is not so harmful to the ecosystem.

The position of biocentric individualism and its application to the analyzed case study cannot completely solve the ethical dilemma. However, it can suggest the possible ways of treating it. According to this approach, it is necessary to respect every single creature that is the embodiment of life. Thus, even though it is also significant to care about the whole ecosystem, it is immoral to treat animals as instruments that are used so as to achieve a larger-scale goal. The position of biocentric individualism, thus, cannot justify the supremacy for the purpose of contributing to the economical usage of earth resources if it requires the testing of the chemicals on animals that will die after such experiments. Therefore, researchers have to endeavor to find other variants so as to check the possible harmful effects of the chemical. In my opinion, nowadays, the progressive technological opportunities may enable the scientists to model possible scripts of further developments taking into consideration the current state of ecosystem and characteristics of the chemical. In any case, the only thing the biocentric individualism can emphasize is the prohibition of testing chemicals on living creatures that are not less worth than human beings just because they do not possess self-consciousness.

To sum up, the ethical position of biocentric individualism stresses the necessity of nonanthropocentric worldview and argues against experiments that lead to the death of animals. In my opinion, such an approach is valid and plausible because it argues for the immorality of justifying the end result with the help of the means that can be evil. Even though it is significant to preserve the ecosystem and reduce the damage made by human beings, it is wrong to sacrifice the life of other living creatures.

About author 

Monica is the author and she is working on topic for argument essay now. She always dreamed of working in this position, working with texts and new information. After all, her credo in life is to develop daily in different fields and be an interesting person. She is fluent in three languages and holds a Masters Degree in Philology and Translator, and is also trying to master new fields in order to be knowledgeable in everything.