This essay provides an overview of the field of environmental ethics. I sketch the major debates in the field from its inception in the 1970s to today, explaining both the central tenets of the schools of thought within the field and the arguments that have been given for and against them. I describe the main trends within the field as a whole and review some of the criticisms that have been offered of prevailing views.
Online paper by John C. Bergstrom, Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Prof. Bergstrom teaches and conducts research related to natural resource, environmental and agricultural topics and issues. As a Christian professor, he is interested in the integration of Biblical teaching on stewardship and our responsibilities as stewards and managers of God's creation.
Ethics are a broad way of thinking about what constitutes a good life and how to live one. They address questions of right and wrong, making good decisions, and the character or attributes necessary to live a good life. Applied ethics address these issues with a special emphasis on how they can be lived out in a practical manner. Environmental ethics apply ethical thinking to the natural world and the relationship between humans and the earth. Environmental ethics are a key feature of environmental studies, but they have application in…
This book is about the extent, origins and causes of the environmental crisis. Dr Northcott argues that Christianity has lost the biblical awareness of the inter-connectedness of all life. He shows how Christian theologians and believers might recover a more ecologically friendly belief system and life style. The author provides an important corrective to secular approaches to environmental ethics, including utilitarian individualism, animal rights theories and deep ecology. He contends that neither the stewardship tradition, nor the panentheist or process ecological theologies have successfully mobilised the Christian tradition. He demonstrates…
Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents. This entry covers: (1) the challenge of environmental ethics to the anthropocentrism (i.e., human-centeredness) embedded in traditional western ethical thinking; (2) the development of the discipline from the 1960s and 1970s; (3) the connection of deep ecology, feminist environmental ethics, animism and social ecology to politics; (4) the attempt to apply traditional ethical theories, including consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics,…
Environmental ethics, as a field of philosophical study, began in the 1970s and 1980s, in part as a result of the environmental movement and largely in Anglo-American work. Its roots trace to the monumental technological discoveries of the twentieth century, such as nuclear power and chemical pesticides; their overuse or misuse; and recognition of the environmental degradation these technologies have caused. Two paradigm examples of how the misuse of technology has caused massive environmental damage and consequently raised new ethical questions are DDT and nuclear power. From the point of…
Vazquez, Pedro. 2018. “Family Business Ethics: At the Crossroads of Business Ethics and Family Business.” Journal of Business Ethics 150 (3): 691–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3171-1. In spite of the considerable development of research in the fields of business ethics and family business, a comprehensive review and integration of the area where both disciplines intersect has not been undertaken so far. This paper aims at contributing to the call for more research on family business ethics by answering the following research questions: What is the status of the current research at the intersection…
Astrachan, Joseph H., Claudia Binz Astrachan, Giovanna Campopiano, and Massimo Baù. 2020. “Values, Spirituality and Religion: Family Business and the Roots of Sustainable Ethical Behavior.” Journal of Business Ethics 163 (4): 637–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04392-5. The inclusion of morally binding values such as religious—or in a broader sense, spiritual—values fundamentally alter organizational decision-making and ethical behavior. Family firms, being a particularly value-driven type of organization, provide ample room for religious beliefs to affect family, business, and individual decisions. The influence that the owning family is able to exert on value formation and…
Carradus, Angela, Ricardo Zozimo, and Allan Discua Cruz. 2020. “Exploring a Faith-Led Open-Systems Perspective of Stewardship in Family Businesses.” Journal of Business Ethics 163 (4): 701–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04387-2. The purpose of this study is to examine how faith-led practices in family firms affect organizational stewardship. Current studies highlight the relevance of religious adherence for family businesses, yet provide limited understanding of how this shapes the key traits of these organizations. Drawing on six autobiographies of family business leaders who openly express their adherence to their faith, and adopting an open-systems analysis…
Discua Cruz, Allan. 2013. “Christian Family Businesses: Opportunities for Future Research.” Journal of Biblical Integration in Business 16 (2). https://cbfa-jbib.org/index.php/jbib/article/view/129. Family businesses dominate the business landscape around the world. Traditionally, research has concentrated on understanding the complex processes that underpin the creation, development, and survival of family businesses. To date, however, a Christian perspective on family business research has been largely overlooked. The aim of this paper is to explore the connections between a Christian perspective and the most prevalent business form worldwide. This paper contributes by reviewing relevant literature…
Berrone, Pascual, Cristina Cruz, and Luis R. Gomez-Mejia. 2012. “Socioemotional Wealth in Family Firms: Theoretical Dimensions, Assessment Approaches, and Agenda for Future Research.” Family Business Review 25 (3): 258–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486511435355. This article makes the case for the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach as the potential dominant paradigm in the family business field. The authors argue that SEW is the most important differentiator of the family firm as a unique entity and, as such, helps explain why family firms behave distinctively. In doing so, the authors review the concept of SEW, its…
