Nature as a norm for activity. The ontological foundations of ecological ethics

Abstract

There exists a fundamental division in ecological ethics (EE) between its anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric versions. The anthropocentric position is a chief point of reference for discussions about the theoretical foundations of EE. Other versions of EE (e.g. animal protection ethics, biocentric ethics, holistic ethics) define themselves as rejecting the anthropocentric justification of human obligations with respect to the environment and base their norms on the internal values of non-human beings. Such non-anthropocentric ontological justifications are provided by various forms of the teleology of nature which interpret the normative concept of nature and establish relations between facts, values, and norms. In the paper I present two conceptions of the teleology of nature that may be used to explain the ontological references of non-anthropocentric EE and to develop and deepen the anthropological version.