Ethical Implications of Environmental Crisis on Present-day Society

The Book ‘Ethical Implications of Environmental Crisis on Present-day Society: A Challenge to Future Humanity’ is an analytical assessment on the role of Ethics in guiding human society as well as in the modern world which has been dictated by utilitarian values that have led to the enormous application of technology and its ultimate result of degradation and destruction of natural resources on the earth. The book of it so that its primary factors of human life,_ that is man, nature and ethics and their intrinsic , to start with the goal of focusing on the role of Ethics on human life and his society, had gone back to the basics connection relating to one anothers’ viability has been discussed thoroughly to arrive at what may ail the society of humanity that at the threshold of twenty first century is in the dilemma of whether to safeguard the natural components, the primary feed of the living word or to stall the progress of the society of humanity itself. To start with its content, the book has focused on the features and characteristics of the society and considers them as the primary factors of the equilibrium formed out of the inter connection among them and the factors are_ the Man, the primary unit of Human Society, the Nature or the scientific name of it as the Environment in which cradle man and his society along with the others belonging to living and non living ( biotic and abiotic) world have been born and existing in since the beginning of the world, and thirdly it is the Ethics of Human society, that is the primary and moral guidance dictated by human mind and therefore subjective by nature which has been defining the intrinsic connection between man and his society and the nature, that is environment and how man along with his society should relate to other entities in the world in a predefined manner, though time and on he defines the criteria of such judgements by himself only. The apex form of such judgement is called as ‘conscience’ and man more than often applies his ‘sense of conscience to dictate his course of actions in day to day life and such judgements being integral to his societal obligations. However, often such judgements are clouded with considerations of some added criteria, as a result of which the course of actions differs to another route and such deviated contemplations tends to result in aberated actions thereby questioning the very equilibrium of the society itself. The modern ethics of human society has deviated enough to from its path of course and the world is on the verge of being destroyed of the finer nuances of its living world, putting into question the modus operandi of the human society on the earth at the same time. Judging the situation from ethical perspective, only man can be held responsible for such condition. Therefore, prima facie it is the responsibility of man and his society to salvage or rather resurrect the earth from a future with such deluged uncertainly of time; Therefore, it is the responsibility of man to think out a process that would help him in the process of resurrection of the environment as well as the values of society that would help in maintaining its wellness and therefore the goodness of it on the earth. The book, therefore has detailed on the history on the course of ethics, and its present-day impact on the human mind, human civilization and its objective connectivity with natural world and again the intrinsic relation between ethics and nature that is environment, as though Ethics being part of human mind and therefore part of ‘natural’ development, the equilibrium between each other is being jeopardised. Human ethics shares a peculiar connectivity with nature and like man himself has, of late acted as detached from its natural root and has evolved on its own course of values and which is viewed by many scholars as the ultimate reason of it being of late deviated from its self acknowledged course of being the ‘moral guide’ of human society. The author has highlighted the ‘two fold’ impacts of deviated ethical values on human mind and society,_ that is ‘a priori’ impacts as well as the ‘a posteriori’ ones as the degraded values have bore in the implications of their impacts on human society; The ‘a priori’ impacts are_ 1. Over in the world, the tribal populations which revere the nature and its propensities immensely are losing their ground of safeguarding its properties and are often being made to destruct it for their own survival. 2.The cause of over- populations in many countries is leading to economic depression resulting in ultimately to ethically degraded value system with the ultimate outcome of environmental degraadation. 3. The twentieth century’s value for questing of comfort and entertainment has ultimately resulted in destruction of nature and the environmental values. The ‘a posteriori’ implications of the depreciated ethical values are as follows:_ 1. Once the near destruction of nature is complete, it will be important to observe human values in absence of nature in whose cradle his civilizations grew. 2. If the continuous destruction of natural equities be allowed to carry on, that may encourage further ethical devaluation in the human society only. However, at the concluding chapter of the book, though many alternatives and pragmatic approaches are discussed as solution to the environmental crisis human society is going to face, it has been arrived at the conclusion that it is the ethical solution to the problems and basically reindroducing and inducting the environmental values to our society and the educational curriculum respectively that may help in revive the earlier value of revering nature, that is environment in the society which may recur the moral responsibility in a person to safeguard nature in and around us. The study ends in a hopeful note of rediscovering ourselves by balancing our modern and ancient value system vis a vis nature to safeguard it for a better future.