Sustainability Principles and Practice
Fourth Edition
anthropocentrism
A view of reality in which human values and interests are primary.
biocentrism
A view of reality in which all living things have intrinsic value and are morally considerable.
ecocentrism
A view of reality in which ecosystems or biotic communities, and not just individuals, have intrinsic value and are morally considerable.
environmental ethics
The branch of philosophy that studies the moral value of, and humans’ ethical relationship to, the nonhuman world.
environmental justice
The concept that access to a clean, healthy environment is a fundamental human right.
instrumental value
The assumption that a thing is valuable only insofar as it benefits humans.
intrinsic value
The assumption that a thing has value in and for itself, regardless of its usefulness to humans.