Semantron 23 Summer 2023

Philosophy and the environment

developed countries of western Europe developed using the same mechanisms of heavy industry and categorically morally wrong practices such as vivisection. Doing those things and only using realpolitik rather than any mode of philosophical thoughts to justify their decisions allowed them to develop far enough so that they can now afford to use and think about philosophy. If the developing countries were now to use philosophy to shape decisions, they would not be able to develop in the same fashion. In conclusion, I believe that philosophy can only be used to shape human decisions in societies where the level of material wealth is great enough for the citizens to be able to afford it, as otherwise it would be simply illegitimate, as some societies would have had the right to develop whilst others did not. That being said, in societies where the use of philosophy to shape human action is legitimate, a revised principle of deontology is best used where the basic value of all members of the environment is recognized, so as to prevent acts which are categorically wrong or a brand of environmental fascism where individuals are wholly disregarded, whilst using utility to determine the degree of rightness or wrongness of a particular action and therefore form a just and usable philosophical framework.

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