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Ecophilosophy as a philosophical underpinning of sustainable development
Author(s) -
Piątek Zdzisława
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.115
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1099-1719
pISSN - 0968-0802
DOI - 10.1002/sd.340
Subject(s) - underpinning , environmental ethics , sustainable development , civilization , context (archaeology) , mechanism (biology) , biosphere , value (mathematics) , epistemology , pleading , sociology , political science , philosophy , ecology , law , geography , computer science , biology , civil engineering , archaeology , machine learning , engineering
The subjects considered here underpin the philosophical way in which the sustainable development concept is justified. In this context, the new branch of philosophy known as ecophilosophy is seen to have left behind the special pleading on behalf of humankind's exploitative attitudes towards Nature, in favour of considerations that – as they assign value to the biosphere per se – aim at the harmonious coexistence of the human species with all beings present in the biosphere. In the conceptual terms with which ecophilosophy has armed itself, sustainable development is the search for proper moderation in so far as human activity in the environment is concerned. A strategy for sustainable development is a mechanism needing to be incorporated into any further advancement of Western civilization. Ecophilosophy's chances of emerging are related to whether an inevitable, unavoidable antagonism between Nature and culture does or does not exist. It is the contention of this article that it does not. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.