Land Ethic Summary

For a long time human ignorance and our ethical values have destroyed and diminished the land that surrounds us. In the “Land Ethic” by Aldo Leopold, the need for an ethic directed towards the creatures and land around us is stressed upon. Leopold mentions how a lack of an ecological conscience, a valuation problem, and a restricted vision of community result in the hindrance of a comprehensive land ethic. The absence of our care for our natural surroundings can also be seen in the four forms of human denial of extinction mentioned in The Once and Future World by J.B. McKinnon. The forms of denial being, ascribing to god, refusal to believe in extinction, forgetting about a species itself, and scientific denial. McKinnon’s forms of denial in turn impedes on the proper construction of a Leopoldian land ethic, which requires treating the innate with respect and considering them as one of our own. An ecological conscience is detrimental for humans to feel empathy and respect for the other species that live among …show more content…
This can be seen as handing over the responsibility to god for making sure that no species will go extinct, and that any destruction done by mankind will be fixed by god. In relation to an ecological conscience, ascribing to god prevents a developed conscience towards natural beings, due to the reliance placed on god. McKinnon specifically mentions Thomas Jefferson sending Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find mammoths in the American West, “[a]s proof that the Christian god would not allow any of his flock to disappear from earth” (28). This example showing how even the most influential personalities were ascribing to god as a form of denial. The need for abolishing our dependence on god is crucial in order to understand the need for our care to the other species that inhabit the planet and is an obstruction in developing an ecological conscience and a Leopoldian land