[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-595428-105":59,"doc-detail-595428-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","environmental-studies-and-utilitarian-ethics","Environmental Studies and Utilitarian Ethics","","Environmental ethicists examine the limits of utilitarianism and often define environmental ethics in ways that treat utilitarian approaches as contradictory. The argument presented defends utilitarian ethics as capable of supporting strong environmental policy and notes that educators have not yet offered a contemporary environmental ethic with comparably broad appeal. It advocates broader, non-pejorative teaching of utilitarianism so graduates of environmental studies and policy programs can understand utilitarian arguments and engage effectively in policymaking.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/environmental-studies-and-utilitarian-ethics/595428/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/environmental-studies-and-utilitarian-ethics/595428.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Blitz","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why do environmental ethicists often treat utilitarian environmental ethics as an oxymoron?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They typically focus on perceived limits of utilitarianism and define environmental ethics in a way that casts utilitarian approaches as contradictory to environmental ethics. The document argues this framing is unfortunate.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What does the document recommend for teaching environmental ethics in environmental science courses?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It urges educators to define environmental ethics more broadly and teach utilitarian ethics in a non-pejorative fashion. This helps graduates understand utilitarian arguments and participate in policymaking.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How is utilitarianism defined in its most traditional form?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Utilitarianism is presented as both a theory of the good and the right, where the greatest good is happiness and freedom from pain. Acts that promote the greatest good are morally right, while those that reduce overall happiness or promote pain are morally wrong.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},595428,1792210566,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},24464137899374,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Environmental Studies and Utilitarian Ethics  \nBrian G. Wolff  \nUniversity of Minnesota Conservation Biology Program, 100 Ecology Building 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108  \n[Email: wolff017@tc.umn.edu](Email: wolff017@tc.umn.edu)  \nAbstract: Environmental ethicists have focused much attention on the limits of utilitarianism and have generally defined “environmental ethics” in a manner that treats utilitarian environmental ethics as an oxymoron. This is unfortunate because utilitarian ethics can support strong environmental policies, and environmental ethicists have not yet produced a contemporary environmental ethic with such broad appeal. I believe educators should define environmental ethics more broadly and teach utilitarian ethics in a non-pejorative fashion so that graduates of environmental studies and policy programs understand the merits of utilitarian arguments and can comfortably participate in the policymaking arena, where utilitarian ethics continue to play a dominant role.  \nKeywords: Environmental Education, Environmental Studies, Environmental Ethics, Utilitarianism, Utilitarian Ethics  \nIntroduction  \nThe current generation of college students is expected to witness a dramatic decline in biodiversity, the continued depletion of marine fisheries, water shortages, extensive eutrophication of freshwater and marine ecosystems, a dramatic decline in tropical forest cover, and significant climatic warming (Jenkins 2003, Pauly et al. 2002, Jackson et al. 2001, Tilman et al. 2001, Adedire 2002, Karl & Trenberth 2003). The ethical implications of these anthropogenic ecological changes are clearly evident and have generated a tremendous interest in environmental ethics-a subject that has justifiably entered the environmental biology classroom.  \nThe teaching of environmental ethics in environmental science courses has been heavily influenced by recent philosophical debates and many educators have followed environmental ethicists in rejecting the ethics of utilitarianism. Environmental science textbooks commonly exemplify this trend by associating utilitarianism with discredited“worldviews.”  \nDespite the deprecatory treatment by environmental ethicists, utilitarianism continues to be widely accepted by professionals in other fields and utilitarian ethics still dominate the public policy arena. The derisive treatment of utilitarian ethics in environmental science courses may, consequently, have unfortunate consequences. Many graduates of environmental science courses are likely to be called upon to implement and defend policies they are ill prepared to understand or fully accept without a basic appreciation for the merits of utilitarian ethics. Environmental science graduates may also find themselves isolated from economists and other professionals if they fail to develop an appreciation for the limitations of competing theories and develop  \nan antipathy for utilitarian ethics. To prepare graduates of environmental science courses for participation in the policy process, it is important that environmental biologists teach the strengths, as well as the weaknesses, of utilitarian ethics in a nonpejorative fashion, and the limitations, as well as the strengths, of competing theories.  \nIt must be appreciated that the training given most biologists seldom includes rigorous courses in philosophy. Consequently, environmental science instructors are likely to lack knowledge of, or an appreciation for, the relative merits of competing theories. I hope my treatment of this subject serves, in part, to address this issue by exposing biology instructors to several important philosophical debates, and by raising awareness of the unsettled nature of environmental ethics.  \nThe Changing Status of Utilitarianism in Environmental Ethics  \nUtilitarianism, in its most traditional form, is both a theory of the good and a theory of the right. It holds that the greatest good is happiness and freedom from pain and suffering. Acts ","cbCairv3oDmW2H7k","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairv3oDmW2H7k","pdf",133625,"English","# Introduction\n## The Changing Status of Utilitarianism in Environmental Ethics","[{\"question\":\"Why do environmental ethicists often treat utilitarian environmental ethics as an oxymoron?\",\"answer\":\"They typically focus on perceived limits of utilitarianism and define environmental ethics in a way that casts utilitarian approaches as contradictory to environmental ethics. The document argues this framing is unfortunate.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the document recommend for teaching environmental ethics in environmental science courses?\",\"answer\":\"It urges educators to define environmental ethics more broadly and teach utilitarian ethics in a non-pejorative fashion. This helps graduates understand utilitarian arguments and participate in policymaking.\"},{\"question\":\"How is utilitarianism defined in its most traditional form?\",\"answer\":\"Utilitarianism is presented as both a theory of the good and the right, where the greatest good is happiness and freedom from pain. Acts that promote the greatest good are morally right, while those that reduce overall happiness or promote pain are morally wrong.\"}]","Environmental Studies and Utilitarian Ethics | PDF",1792081122,15]