When people think of the environment they think of many things. To some, the environment could mean nature while others may consider it to be an entire ecosystem. In the book, “The Spell of the Sensuous,” philosopher David Abram discusses how humanity needs to reconnect with the environment and that the solution is to reduce our use of technology. He believes that once we are one with the environment, we can then proceed to treat it correctly and fix our mistakes. In the book, “Animal Liberation” the author, Peter Singer, defines “speciesism” and how animals and humans should be considered equally due to the fact that they both feel pleasure and pain.
Once the environment is perceived as an equal part of an individual’s community, the human ethical spirit will respect the environment, cherish its benefits and beauty, and be obligated to preserve it. If future generations are taught to create harmony between the three pillars of society: economic, social, and environmental, further damage to the environment can be
Development is a broad term, which can be defined many ways. It is seen visibly, for example, with images of cities, new construction, and big businesses coming to mind. However, development within a country is a multi-faceted concept related to the quality of life that its people experience. It is difficult to measure development in purely economic terms; such as calculating GDP.
However, the way that the environment shapes our society is not singularly related to its functionalism itself, but to the way that humans perceive the role of environment in their lives. According to Suzuki (2009, para. 2), in today’s world the main perspective towards nature is the anthropocentrism, where humans believe that they are the centre of the world, and all the other aspects of nature must succumb to their dominance. In this view, everything that surrounds us is “an opportunity or resource to exploit.” (Suzuki, 2009, para. 2)
Human social systems and the environment are both very complex and highly adaptive. Complex because they consist of many different parts that are intricately connected. Adaptive because they are highly influential, both internally and towards each other, working towards the most effective path to survival in an ever changing landscape. The disposition of a society strongly affects its peoples attitude towards nature, their behaviors, and thus their effect on the environment. Ecosystem services are imperative for human well being, but how the environment is modified to obtain these benefits differs greatly between societies.
Title: Philosophy of Development Name: Jitendra Kuldeep Roll No: 13110044 Word Count: 1659
A Critical Review of Development of Under-development by AG Frank Development of Underdevelopment is one of the most critically acclaimed works in development literature. It was written by Andre Gunder Frank, one of the most respected scholars in Development discourse. Frank argues that an all encompassing and comprehensive theory of development can only be fairly developed and articulated if the historical circumstances of the colonial and underdeveloped regions of the world is also taken into account. He challenges the diffusion theory and. He advances the notion that underdevelopment in most underdeveloped regions of the world is generally a result of interaction or linkages between the developed and the underdeveloped world.
The Health Field Model The Health Field Model (HFM) is the conceptual framework that is used by different health care organizations or in individual research projects to evaluate the prevalence, awareness and management of diseases in the community (Pittman, 2010). The HFM, a determinant health model is developed by Bob Evans and Greg Stoddart in 1990. The HFM provides a broad spectrum for understanding health, and the factors that interfere with, and influence the health of individuals in the community. There are features to put into consideration for, in determining the factors that affect many diseases; hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, or influence of health on a community (Kindig & McGinnis, 2007).
I agree with the assertion that in the context of Sustainable Development ‘the reality of life today is that the economy dominates environment and society. The Concept of Sustainable Development Sustainable development refers to “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, and was produced by the Brundtland report (WCED, 1987). The concept also takes into account the needs of the poor in developing countries by outlining achievable objectives of importance (WCED, 1987).
Kahn’s (1995) approach to the sustainable development theory is consistent with the modern day development techniques of Europe 2020 priorities; smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth. The adoption of some innovative strategies such as the utilisation of renewable energy as an integral part of the energy mix could result in growth of the economy, which will eventually trickle down to the poor or extend to the rural or disadvantaged areas of the country. The social sustainability generally explains the idea of equity among the people, empowerment, participation, accessibility and institutional stability. It seeks to ensure a good standard of living in the country by alleviating poverty. Environmental sustainability seeks to explain the ways in which exploitation and utilisation of the natural resources will not be made to negatively affect the environment or the health of human beings (Kahn 1995).
The conclusion conveyed at the end of this paper, will be that sustainable development is a concept with weaknesses however, the strengths outweigh them. To begin with, the concept of sustainable development famously culminated in 1987 with the United Nations 'Commission on Environment and Development ' also known as the 'Brundtland Report ' (Everard & Longhurt, 2017; pp. 1244). The article introduced, the most widely known definition of Sustainable development as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).
One of the foundations of sustainable development is efficient environmental management (UNEP 2002). However, balancing the needs of current generations without compromising the environment for future generations poses to be quite problematic. A number of environmental decision-making instruments have been developed in an attempt to ensure that development is sustainable. One of the most popular of these is environmental impact assessment (EIA). This essay will be based on the strengths and limitations of an Environmental Impact Assessment.
More specifically, economic development looks at the quality of life in a country, with determinants such as mean years of education, access to healthcare, average income per person (measured in GDP per capita) indicating the living standards of a country. Factors that can lead to economic development include foreign direct investment (FDI), increased quantity and quality of human
Introduction: Our earth is the most precious gift of the universe. It is the sustenance of ‘nature’ that is the key to the development of the future of mankind. It is the duty and responsibility of each one of us to protect nature. It is here that the understanding of the ‘environment’ comes into the picture. The degradation of our environment is linked with the development process and the ignorance of people about retaining the ecological balance.
Sustainable development, as its name suggests, is a concept continually elaborating. The most commonly used definition, according to World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), is the development which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). It shows the importance of considering benefits for both current and future generations and strongly supports economic development, while it also implies when accessing environment and natural resources, human beings tend to take an anthropocentric view, that the primary goal is to satisfy human needs. With no regard for earth as a life-support system, a development will not be considered sustainable. Therefore, by taking economic, social, environmental issues into accounts is a key approach to develop sustainably in different contexts.
