Visualizing Environmental Science

Human Values and Environmental Problems 33

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and others, including ecologist Bill Devall and philoso-
pher George Sessions. The principles of deep ecology,
as expressed by Naess in Ecology, Community and Lifestyle
(1989), include:

1. Both human and nonhuman life have intrinsic value
   (ˆ}ÕÀiÊÓ°È). The value of nonhuman life forms is
   independent of the usefulness they may have for nar-
   row human purposes.


2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the
   flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth.


3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and
   diversity except to satisfy vital needs.


4. Present human interference with the nonhuman world
   is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.
   5. The flourishing of human life and cultures is com-
   patible with a substantial decrease in the human pop-
   ulation. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires
   such a decrease.
   6. Improving human well-being requires economic,
   technological, and ideological changes.
   7. The ideological change is mainly that high quality
   of life need not be synonymous with high levels of
   consumption.
   8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an
   obligation to participate in the attempt to implement
   the necessary changes.
   For many people in highly developed countries,
   the deep ecology worldview represents a radical shift

Western

worldview:

Organisms valued

for their utility

Instrumental value Intrinsic value

GOAL:

Conserve human

and nonhuman life

Deep ecology

worldview:

Organisms valued

for their own sake

Cristina Redinger-Libolt/Botanica/Getty Images, Inc.

a. According to the deep ecology worldview (right side of
triangle), organisms have intrinsic value—that is, they are
valued for their own sake, not for the goods and services
they provide.

b. A tree trunk has grown around the head of Buddha at Wat
Mahathat in Thailand, symbolizing the oneness of Buddha with
nature. Buddhists practice the stilling of human desires, the
reduction of consumption, and the contemplation of nature. Like
Buddhism, many of the world’s other religions espouse the intrinsic
value of living things.

Why is there an overlapping goal between

these two extreme worldviews?

Think Critically