Understanding Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethics

Abstract

In the face of the growing socio environmental change such as climate change and its impact, environmental unsustainability, etc, many scholars have shown interest in the field of environmental ethics.  The problem has always been traced back to human actions, greed, interventions, and its implication. It becomes important to address the necessary relation between humans, and their actions toward non-humans and the environment at large. As a response to this need, several theories and approaches of environmental ethics have been developed. In this paper, it will be my endeavour to understand the theoretical development in the field of environmental ethics.  What moral consideration is to be extended toward the environment as moral agents on the part of humans? What would be the standard of environmental ethics that brings out the necessary relation and its limits between humans and the environment? I have specifically focused on ‘land ethics’ propounded by Aldo Leopold because of its major prominence and influence in the field of environmental ethics. I will further investigate if ‘land ethics’ was successful in being the standard of environmental ethics.