• NATURAL LAW: Holds that honoring “laws of nature” should be guiding principle for our ethical theories.
• DEONTOLOGY (Principles, Duties, Rights): Reasons in terms of principles: we have fundamental duties that require us to act in certain ways/ refrain from others. “Means more important than ends”
• UTILITARIANISM (“Greatest Good for Greatest Number”): Reasons in terms of consequences of actions: we should strive to maximize overall social benefits.
“Ends justify means”
Identify the philosophical tradition reflected in each statement below (use the 3 categories from above):
A. _______________ “Beetles maintain soil health in rainforests, which in turn regulate air necessary for human life. Cattle ranchers should not be able to cut down forests for grazing, because benefits of clean air for billions of humans & animals outweigh the landowners’ individual profits.”
B. _______________ “Humans should avoid intervention in nature. Beetles have been on planet for millions of years longer than us; it is wrong for humans to come along and disrupt the intricate order of natural systems to which those beetles belong.”
(Can be framed in ecological OR religious/spiritual terms)
