People or penguins; by William F. Baxter

Endangered species and anti-cruelty laws are instances of such advocacy. In secular terms, animals and other natural entities do not have legal standing in human courts, unless there is human advocacy for them. How is environmental ethics a secular matter? But, insofar as part of this stewardship is for the sake of future generations, a perplexing question arises: How can we have obligations to those who do not exist? Robert Heilbroner (1919-2005) has examined this issue in 'What Has Posterity Ever Done for Me?,' a widely quoted and reprinted 1975 essay that first appeared in New York Magazine. Nonetheless, many religious groups have proclaimed an obligation of benevolent stewardship over parts of the earth. Some of the critical perspective derives from a Christian view imbedded in Western political philosophy that God gave the earth and everything on it to humankind to rule over for our use only humans have the spark of divinity that justifies intrinsic value. What religious issues are involved in environmental thought, pro and con? Baxter expressed a general critical view of environmentalism held by human beings who do not believe that animals have intrinsic worth or rights equal to those of humans. He assumed that humanism requires that humans are what matter above all else. Baxter, a law professor who passed away in 1998, argued in People or Penguins: The Case for Maximum Pollution (1974) that the cost of a pollution-free society would be harmful to humans. What do critics of the deep ecological and animal value views claim?

Taylor (1923-) has extended Regan's view in claiming that every living thing, from a germ to an elephant, has a 'teleological-center-of-life' that is worthy of moral respect.

It follows from this that humans have an obligation not to harm animals, or at least some of them, for recreation, food, or experimentation. Tom Regan (1938-) has based a deontological doctrine of the wrongness of killing innocents, including animals, on the premise that they have intrinsic or inherent worth.

People or penguins; by William F. Baxter