ABSTRACT

Biocentric (life-centered) and ecocentric (ecosystem-centered) ethics offer a rich discourse on protecting biotic communities – defending conservation with inherent value tied to life. A problem arises from these views if mountains, glaciers, canyons, and other abiotic natural objects (often foci of conservation efforts) matter in and of themselves. Abiotic nature helps demonstrate and delineate the boundaries of environmental ethics grounded in life-based axiology. A series of thought experiments suggest that orienting conservation as a question of obligation offers an additional avenue to explore and defend the protection of abiotic nature; agreements and property rights plausibly ground moral obligations to conserve abiotic nature.

摘要

以生物为中心（以生命为中心）和以生态为中心（以生态系统为中心）的伦理学为保护生物群落提供了丰富的论述，即以与生命息息相关的固有价值捍卫保护。如果山脉，冰川，峡谷和其他非生物自然物体（通常是保护工作的重点）本身就很重要，那么从这些观点就会产生问题。非生物性质有助于证明和描绘基于生命价值论的环境伦理学的界限。一系列思想实验表明，将保护作为义务问题提供了探索和捍卫非生物自然保护的另一条途径。协议和财产权似乎是维护非生物性质的道德义务。