Environmental Ethics

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 17

between man and other life forms and also with inanimate physical constituents got changed from initially symbiotic to predatory. His approach, behaviour and interactions became more and more anthropocentric, arrogating to himself the exclusive rights to use, exploit all others for his own pleasures and increasing greed. The whole environment has been so much subjugated by man that it became just anthroposphere. The human brain power is increasing by leaps and bounds extending far beyond the earth planet into the infinite space-time-continuum of universe (cosmonautics) so much so that environment has become noosphere i.e. domain of human mind (the term coined by scientist V.I. Vernadsky). Excesses by mankind in overexploitation of environmental constituents are polluting and endangering not only the earth but outer space also.
Mankind itself has numerous social, political, economic, religious and racial micro-environments interacting with each other mutually beneficial if symbiotic and destructive (e.g. wars) if predatory, greedy and selfish. The various customs, beliefs, dogmas and superstitions have their deleterious impact not only on man but entire environment at macrolevels also. An individual's behaviour is as conditioned by his family, social, racial, religious and national environment, the respective ethos, values beliefs, vices, rituals and practices. The physical environment climate and place also have significant impact. Ideally the interactions should be symbiotic for welfare of one and all and it is always so in the beginning in all systems and subsystems. But with increasing anthropocentric attitude mankind gradually became predatory initially against other life forms and physical constituents and subsequently amongst itself, man against family against family, race against race, nation against nation because it triggered individualism with inherent tendencies of greed and selfishness. Such predatory models have in-built mechanism for self-destruction. Even the primitive predator hunter man realised this and substituted the predatory occupation of
man,
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