Difference Between Anthropocentric And Untrumental Valuing Of Nature

Improved Essays
n Hettinger’s (2012/1998) essay, he defines anthropocentric value as nature that is valuable for the use of humans (pg. 119). In addition, he defines anthropogenic value as the noninstrumental valuing of nature (Hettinger, 2012/1998). Moreover, this essay will include a brief discussion on the difference between anthropocentric and anthropogenic value. Furthermore, I will follow with an example of an anthropogenic value that is not anthropocentric. According to Hettinger (2012/1998), the difference between anthropocentric and anthropogenic value is the noninstrumental and instrumental value humans place on nature (pg. 119). More specifically, noninstrumental value is the value of something that is not directly valuable for human use. For instance, the Venus Flytrap. Although we do not yield any direct type of value from the Venus Flytrap, they are a valuable component in a food chain and they know their prey (Jabr, 2010). …show more content…
In addition, this essay included a brief discussion on the difference between anthropocentric and anthropogenic value. Furthermore, from my perspective, polar bears and mars are examples of an anthropogenic value that is not anthropocentric. References:
Hettinger, N. (2012). Comments on Holmes Rolston’s “Naturalizing Values.” In L.P. Pojman & P. Pojman (Eds.), Environmental ethics: Readings in theory and application, (6th ed., pp. 119-122). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Inc. (Reprinted from Environmental ethics: Readings in theory and application, (1998)).
Jabr, F. (2010, March 14). How Does a Venus Flytrap Work? Retrieved from Scienceline: http://scienceline.org/2010/03/how-does-a-venus-flytrap-work/
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2015, December 8). Endangered Species Act. Retrieved from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Environmental fascism is an issue that most try to avoid when structuring a new environmental model. As well as it is also an issue that most try and avoid when trying to figure out how to solve an environmental dilemma because it shows favoritism. In this essay I will discuss why Aldo Leopold is accused of his Land-Ethic model falling into the category of the issue of environmental fascism, and how J. Baird Callicott tries to resolve the accusations. First lets begin with taking a look at what environmental fascism is.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chapter nine of Dr. Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians examines environmental virtue ethics and its applications in real world situations. The case study in this chapter inspects three Canadian environmentalist exemplars. Virtue ethics is the moral theory that searches for a middle ground between extreme opposite characteristics all while taking into consideration the facts that are present at any given time. The case study focusses on David Suzuki, Elizabeth May, and Maude Barlow, who are all powerful beings in the realm of climate change. In relation to these figures, Williston suggests that one should seek these figures as a mentor as one would if they were trying to learn an instrument (Williston 272).…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The article, American Forest Policy-Global Ethical Tradeoffs, addresses the issue of global increases in timber demand, especially within the United States, coupled with the decrease in timber production and forest cultivation within the U.S., and the potential solutions that may remedy the growing timber dilemma. The authors propose several solutions and discuss their potential benefits and costs, but overall, voice their preference of establishing forest plantations and practicing intensive forest management. The article is written is a very straightforward, factual way that is aimed at the general public, in an attempt to have them understand the unintentional hypocrisies of their actions of advocating reduced logging while still importing…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To go against such mentality, the author contends that “various nonhuman species have capacities that humans lack. There is the speed of a cheetah, the vision of an eagle, the agility of a monkey. Why should not these be taken as sign of their superiority over humans” (323)? This question most definitely halts further comments on that issue. With that being said, Taylor surely believes that we can live in harmony with our environment, but again, only once we adopt an attitude of respect towards nature and obtain a “life-centered system” (320).…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Daytime temperatures soared into the 90s this weekend, a sure sign that means summer’s right around the corner. My girls and I can’t wait! They’ve already started a summer bucket list and plan to read books, take hikes, and spend time with friends. Their enthusiasm motivated me to find quotes that will inspire us and your family to make the most of this season. 1.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Americans sought out wilderness as a form of escape from civilization, but the very presence of humans in the wild, made these places an unnatural product of civilization. This view of nature is also harmful, as it causes humanity to detest civilization, despite the structure and safety it provides. The romanticism of Wilderness can also fundamental contributor to many actual environmental concerns. This is evident by the protection of rainforests, which often hurting residents that rely on the resources of the forest for their way of life. It can also be seen in arguments of climate change, where the only viable solution to the issue is for humans to “kill themselves” to protect nature.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After a three year old boy fell into the gorilla encloser at the Cincinnati Zoo, a gorilla grabbed ahold of the boy and dragged him through the water. The gorilla was shot by zoo keepers in order to rescue the boy who was not seriously injured. The gorilla, Harambe, was a western lowland gorilla which is a critically endangered species. Animal rights groups are pressing for an investigation of the zoo because they claim the zoo violated the Animal Welfare Act (Dodley). Was killing the gorilla to the save the boy’s life the right thing to do?…

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Phosphorus Cycle Essay

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The services provided by indirect values are wide-ranging. Examples of indirect values are biogeochemical cycles which are services that provide for fresh water, removal of carbon dioxide from the air, the uptake of excess nitrogen in the soil, and the provision of phosphates. Water disposal through the action of decomposers, provision of fresh water through biogeochemical cycle, prevention of soil erosion, which occurs naturally in intact ecosystems, and the regulation of climate through plants to take up carbon dioxide are more examples of indirect values. Direct values are products that are beneficial to human beings.…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We should respect and preserve as much as the natural world as possible, but use its resources to our…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Suszuki, Severn Cullis. “Severn Cullis-Suzuki at Rio Summit 1992.” Youtube, uploaded by We Canada, 16 August 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJGuIZVfLM. Accessed 29 april, 2017. A twelve year old speaker, Severn Cullis, gave a powerful speech to the UN Rio Earth Summit about social justice and environmental issues.…

    • 100 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the emerging values recognized by human beings is the concern for our environments and the living creatures that we share them with, but what would happen if human beings stopped caring for their planet and completely disregarded any other living creature outside of the human race? Expert biologist, Jeff Corwin, discusses this idea in his article “The Sixth Extinction,” published by the Los Angeles Times. He argues in his article that while there have been preventative programs put into place, human beings are actively destroying our planet and slowly killing off hundreds of species with every deforestation project, landfill, and black-market trade. For his article, Corwin uses real life experiences to strengthen his credibility. In addition to his easy-to-understand writing style, Corwin also pulls his audience into the root of his essay by providing shocking facts that give readers an insight as to what could happen if they continue to disregard their planet and the other living species that reside there.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neil Smith’s The Production of Nature from Uneven Development: Nature, Capital and the Production of Space (1987) draws on the work of Karl Marx to explore how the structure of capitalism has affected society’s relationship with the natural world as factor of production. Smith argues that our conceptions about nature as being separate from society are what enable us to exploit it. In order to explain this concept Smith divides nature into first nature and second nature. First nature, being the pristine ideal that many identify as the natural world, and second nature, that which is the product of human labor and often identified as an object of society, even though its origins are from the earth. Our inability to protect natural areas that are…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to scientists, around 150-200 species of plant and animal go extinct every 24 hours. This statistic doesn’t seem so shocking until the realization comes that this is almost 1,000 times the natural rate for extinction. Humans contribute a great amount to this pandemic. A prime example is that of the dodo bird, which was famously hunted into extinction. Around 20,000 species are currently listed as threatened by extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At the start of the 21st century, human beings have made a huge impact on the global ecosystem. Many people believe that the Anthropogenic epoch has been caused by all humans, while there is the conflicting idea that it is only because of some people. The use of some scholarly journals, a museum, and a book present the commonalities and the differences in the claims and evidence of some perspectives. This paper will argue that there are many claims to the cause of the Anthropocene.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    According to Taylor, anthropocentrism is giving importance to the interests of humans above other species. He encourages us to have the bio-centric outlook towards nature. The overall basis for this theory is explained in four ways. The first component is: humans are non-privileged beings in the community of life. We are not the end of the evolutionary trail and nature does not depend on us.…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays