The Land Ethic and Ecomodernism Discipline: Philosophy

Abstract

This essay explores alternative ways of applying the land ethic, a branch of environmental ethics with the supreme deontological principle: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.” The land ethic challenges anthropocentric views by emphasizing the intrinsic value of nature. It also analyzes the welfare of the environment taken as an integral whole instead of considering the sum of individuals’ welfare. By examining the supreme principle of the land ethic more closely, this essay further clarifies that people should practice the land ethic by minimizing effects that reduce the biodiversity of an ecosystem, especially rapid ones. Advocates like J. Baird Callicott and Paul Shepard look for solutions in our pre-agricultural prehistory and argue for a way of life in which people live much closer to the land. But this may not be the sole or the best way of applying the land ethic. This essay introduces ecomodernism as a practical alternative, suggesting that technological advancements can “intensify” human activities to increase efficiency and reduce land use, thereby reducing human reliance on land and resources and minimizing environmental impacts. Surprisingly, by comparing these approaches ecomodernism seems to meet the land ethic’s goal of minimizing environmental impacts at least as effectively as the approach that Callicott and Shepard advocate without necessitating a fundamental restructuring of society.