Deck 43: Philosophical Problems for Environmentalism Elliott Sober

Question 1

Sober claims that it is hard to use familiar moral categories to explain the value of preserving non-human species and ecosystems for

A) their own sakes.
B) recreational purposes.
C) medicinal purposes.
D) nutritional purposes.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following might differentiate an environmentalist from an animal liberationist?

A) A willingness to use steel traps in an effort to preserve or restore a balanced ecosystem
B) A greater concern for wild than for domesticated organisms
C) A greater commitment to protecting endangered species than nonendangered species
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Sober summarizes the problem with the Ignorance Argument, saying

A) a circle is a circle is a circle.
B) to assume one's conclusion begs the question.
C) out of nothing, nothing comes.
D) ignorance is not an argument.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Environmentalists resort to what Sober calls the "slippery slope argument" to avoid which of the following conclusions?

A) Mass extinction is a natural occurrence.
B) Each species matters only a little.
C) The wholesale impoverishment of the biosphere is not a matter of grave concern.
D) All of the above

Question 5

Which of the following does Sober see as an important reason for environmentalists to resist simply grounding their ethics in what is "natural?"

A) If we are part of nature, then everything we do is natural, including destroying the environment.
B) Domesticated species have as much right to protection as wild or "natural" ones.
C) The appeal to nature easily leads to a melancholy and sobering attitude toward existence.
D) Appeals to nature tend to rest on an insufficiently critical embrace of post-Darwinian biology.

Question 6

Which of the following might a preference utilitarian consider as having moral status?

A) An owl
B) An oak tree
C) A mountain range
D) All of the above

Question 7

Sober believes we can extend the concept of "wants" to which, if any, of the following?

A) Species
B) Ecosystems
C) Individual organisms
D) None of the above

Question 8

Sober calls ethical theory's need to describe and argue for what should count as having autonomous value and what should not

A) the problem of demarcation.
B) the categorical imperative.
C) the stability/diversity question.
D) the n + m question.

Question 9

Which of the following similarities does Sober see between environmentalism and aesthetic values?

A) An interest in rarity
B) A concern for preserving context
C) An attachment to objects that goes beyond the experiences they facilitate
D) All of the above

Question 10

According to Sober, the philosophical defense of environmentalism can be provided by which of the following ethical theories?

A) Hedonistic utilitarianism
B) Preference utilitarianism
C) Kantian deontology
D) None of the above

Question 11

Sober suggests an analogy between environmentalism and aesthetics that illuminates how we may value natural objects for more than just their use.

Question 12

Sober acknowledges that an environmentalist may be reluctant to classify their concern as aesthetic because to do so would trivialize it.

Question 13

For environmentalists, the life situation of individual members of species is of primary importance.

Question 14

Sober argues that concerns about mass extinction are a plausible basis for defending protections for particular endangered species.

Question 15

Sober grants that slippery slope arguments are usually compelling, but denies their application in the context of environmentalism.

Question 16

According to Sober, the main conceptual problem for environmentalism is the attempt to justify the notion that species and ecosystems should be preserved for non-instrumental reasons.

Question 17

Sober recognizes the distinction between "wild" and "domesticated" as ethically important.

Question 18

According to Sober, it is wrongheaded to equate what is natural with what is good.

Question 19

Sober regards preference utilitarianism as better suited than hedonistic utilitarianism to secure ethical status for endangered species.

Question 20

Sober thinks intelligently run zoos should play a major role in efforts to preserve and protect endangered species.

Question 21

Why does the "demarcation problem" pose such difficulty to environmentalism? What deficiencies does Sober find in the various ways environmentalists have attempted to address it?

Question 22

Explain Sober's argument for seeing environmentalist values as aesthetic values. Are you persuaded? Why or why not?

Question 23

Should "slippery slope" arguments have a place in environmentalists' efforts to preserve and protect ecosystems and species? Why or why not?

Question 24

Is it possible to be both an animal liberationist and an environmentalist?

Question 25

Sober concludes with the statement, "Instead of radically jettisoning individualist ethics, environmentalists may find a more hospitable home for their values in a category of value that has existed all along." Explicate and evaluate this claim. How does it follow from Sober's central thesis? What is the most compelling objection Sober faces?