Ecocentrism is a philosophical position developed in the field of environmental philosophy that offers an alternative view of the complex relationships between humans and the nonhuman world. This dissertation develops an ecocentric philosophy of energy in order to account for a wider set of ethics and values dimensions involved in energy politics. It focuses especially on inter-species justice as a crucial missing element behind even those energy policies that seek to transition society from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The goal is to develop an ecocentric philosophy of energy that accounts for the fundamental and deep ecological interdependences of human and nonhuman animals, plants, and other living and non-living beings. I start with an introduction and a summary of the chapters followed in chapter 2 by a clarification of the terms "paradigm" and "energy." In chapter 3 I offer an exploration of the origins of the "energy paradigm" or the predominant understanding of energy that emerged during modernity (18th century onwards). The modern energy paradigm progressively became a "traditional" forma mentis that is nonetheless based on flawed presuppositions about the human-energy-nature relationship. I criticize the homogeneous, colonizing and hegemonic nature of this paradigm, unveil its tacit anthropocentric and instrumental assumptions, and show how it still fuels contemporary lifestyles and policy. Chapter 4 presents a literature review that traces the most significant contributions from the humanities (broadly construed to include social sciences such as anthropology and sociology) to the study of energy. In this chapter, I also focus on the scarcer yet relevant literature on energy's metaphysical, ontological, and ethical dimensions. In chapter 5 I develop the theory of a radical, ecocentric philosophy of energy, building on the work of other ecocentric thinkers such as Holmes Rolston III, J. Baird Callicott, and Arne Naess. Chapter 6 suggests paths towards the realization, in praxis, of this ecocentric philosophy of energy. It provides the sketch of an "ecocentric energy ethic" to enhance an ecologically sustainable and inter-species just energy transition. This normative framework is intended as a flexible and nonetheless precise "moral compass" that supports an ecocentric turn in the human-energy-nature relationship. The energy ethic outlines key principles to evaluate the "morality" of energy policies, practices, and technologies. These principles can provide ethical guidance to energy practitioners (engaged consumers, energy users, educators, designers, and public policy makers) and thus contribute to the theoretical and practical achievement of an ecologically sound and inter-species just energy transition.

As the central goal of the submitted diploma thesis, I set myself to approach the meaning of values in the work of Albert Schweitzer in the ethical and environmental context and to map this footprint in the non-profit sector of the Czech Republic. With this work, I would like to emphasize the importance of Schweitzer's ethics of respect for life for its constant relevance and monitor this influence across the spectrum of non-profit institutions focused on environmental protection. The added value of the work lies mainly in the presentation and own critical reflection of the main theses of this important figure of the 20th century and evaluation of its impact on the current state of environmental education, where for capacity reasons I limit myself to selected Czech institutions through a sociological method (a questionnaire survey). To support objectivity, I expanded the research with a probe into the media image of Albert Schweitzer in the Czech Republic.

In March of 2017, New Zealand passed the Te Awa Tupua Act, a law that established the river Whanganui as a legal entity, with the same rights and obligations as a person. This commitment from the New Zealand government gave rise to the possibilities of protecting the ecosystem surrounding the river, but also strengthen the rights of the indigenous people, the Māori's, which consider Whanganui a part of their ancestry and heritage. The aim of this research is to study the ethical argumentation that motivates the recognition of the Whanganui River as a legal entity and connect that with the theoretical approach presented by Mikael Stenmark in Miljöetik och Miljövård: Miljöfrågornas Värderingsmässiga Dimension. The study will also seek to observe how the argumentation is influenced by a minority perspective, more specifically the Māori, and the oppression of their people since the colonization of New Zealand. The theoretical foundations for this study is the environmental ethics framework presented by Stenmark, which can be summed up in three main approaches: anthropocentrism, ecocentrism and biocentrism. A content-oriented ideational analysis lays the groundwork for mapping what moral positions and perceptions that motivates the recognition of the Whanganui River as a legal entity. In addititon, the study has transcribed videos with indigenous people which has been categorized and structured according to the theoretical framework. The analysis concludes that the colonial intergenerational oppression on the Māori's and the observed negative impact on the river corresponds with the well-being of the Māori people. This observed correlation, combined with a modified holistic ecocentrism, is the foundation to which a selected group of Māori's justify and motivate the Te Awa Tupua Act. This essay also problematize that environmental ethics is characterized by a context that need to be supplemented with an updated and multifaceted view of our nature and indigenous people, which draws attention to more positions that in history have not been given enough space in academic context.

Freoner är ett stort problem för människors hälsa och andra levande organismer på grund av freons nedbrytande effekt på ozonlagret. Forskare upptäckte problemen med freon och varningar från forskningssamhället uppmärksammades av huvudproducenter av freoner samt av allmänheten då påverkan på ozonlagret ökar risken för bland annat hudcancer. Montrealprotokollet blev starten på de internationella konventioner som senare implementerades. Dock finns det ett flertal växthusgaser idag som också är ozonnedbrytande som inte ingår under någon konvention. Den globala uppvärmningen är en effekt av ökad mängd växthusgaser i atmosfären och detta kräver ett internationellt samarbete för att kunna lösas. I Montrealprotokollet ingår ODS (Ozonnedbrytande substanser) där freon innefattas. Syftet för denna studie var att belysa vad som gjorde freonförbudet lyckat, och om det är möjligt att tillämpa dessa nyckelaspekter på en av dagens växthusgaser som liknar freon. NO2 valdes för att begränsa urvalet.  Denna litteraturstudie använde sig av databaser för att finna relevanta källor genom nyckelord, därefter valdes källor utefter relevansen till frågeställningen samt att de skulle vara opartiska. Resultatet av denna studie pekar på svårigheterna med att implementera det arbetssätt som ledde till freonförbudet, på gasen NO2, som hade liknande egenskaper som freon. Detta på grund av att dagens växthusgaser är svåra att reglera utsläppet på. Växthusgaser finns globalt och det finns inte en tydlig utsläppskälla som går att reglera samt hitta ett substitut för. Korrelationen till den mänskliga hälsan och miljön, är också en nyckelaspekt till varför förbudet mot freoner var lyckat. / Freons became a large problem for society when scientists proved the ozone depletion effect, which proved to have a negative effect on human health and other living organisms. The ozone layer which was known for its protective qualities against UV-radiation lead to a new field of study, ODS (ozone depleting substances). The warnings from the scientist society and the public were eminent. The research pointed out, among other things, the increasing risk of skin cancer. This forced fast new research and several international conventions to save the ozone layer. But there are several greenhouse gases, which also have the degrading effect on the ozone layer, that are in use today. This require an international cooperation for the environment to be able to solve. The aim of this report was to illustrate why the freon ban was a success and why it would be hard to implement these key concepts on a similar present greenhouse gas. In this literature study, several databases were used to find relevant sources for the main questions and unbiased for the topic. The key aspects in this study is presented in the result section. The result pointed at the difficulties with implementing the same way of work as at the freon ban to the greenhouse gas ban. Different aspects play an important role in this, but one of the greater difficulties for implementing this is to pinpoint it to a specific source for gas emissions and finding a sustainable solution for it. The correlation between human health and environmental issues was a key factor in the freon ban.

2 ABSTRACT The thesis deals with ethics-relevant thinking and attitudes of workers at animal rescue stations, with the way they perceive nature as a phenomenon, and aims at discovering the various reasons that lead to the workers' choice for their job. Animal rescue stations are an example of protection of nature via voluntary work; thus, discovering the attitudes of workers at these facilities might lead to better understanding of their motivations for this job. The theoretical part of the thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter introduces concepts of environmental ethics focused on ethical behaviour of humans towards animals. The second chapter discusses the approach to nature, presented in the book Contested Natures by Phil Macnaghten and John Urry, together with that of environmental psychology. The last chapter is focused on animal rescue stations themselves and their activities. The practical part of the work presents a research on the topics above that took place at animal rescue stations and was done by interviewing their staff. The data acquired from these interviews are set in a theoretical framework, accordingly elaborated on and further categorized. It can be seen how the statements of the respondents correlate with the concepts presented in the theoretical part. Key words: animal...

This dissertation offers a philosophical analysis of the ecological crisis through the lens of Hannah Arendt. It frames the ecological crisis as a struggle for situated cohabitation. By analyzing the work of Arendt, this dissertation shows the ways in which the ecological crisis is entwined with the political crisis of plurality. I suggest that these two issues are interconnected and that we need to address both for situated cohabitation. This dissertation is an interdisciplinary work, drawing from environmental philosophy, feminist philosophy, and educational practice. The work is intended to provide novel insight into the current ecological crisis in three ways. First, it grounds its theory in the work of Arendt, a thinker not usually situated in the prevue of environmental scholarship. Second, by synthesizing Arendt's account of plurality with the work of Judith Butler and Ricardo Rozzi, this dissertation explores a politics of plurality that can take account of social and ecological conditions of plurality. Third and finally, the dissertation merges theory with praxis by offering a practical program for doing environmental philosophy with children, a program derived from my sustained experiences working as a facilitator of a philosophy for children (P4C) program. This dissertation does not seek just a theoretical understanding of the ecological crisis, but also a practice of situated cohabitation in the crisis.

Humane education (HE) is a specialized niche in higher education and adult learning. HE provides a curricular framework positioning environmental ethics, animal protection, human rights, media literacy, culture, and change processes as the nexus for understanding and inspiring social change. Research-derived experiences illuminating how educators conceptualize and implement HE in U.S. schools are absent from the scholarly literature. Facing this gap, practitioners and administrators of HE programs cannot access nor apply research-derived practices to inform instruction. To address this gap, a conceptual framework was advanced weaving together HE teaching experience, Freirean philosophy, hyphenated selves, reflection-in-action, transformative learning, and transformative education to explore and understand what it means to be a practitioner teaching through the lens of HE in U.S. primary, secondary, and post secondary classrooms. A qualitative, multi case study was designed wherein purposeful and maximum variation sampling resulted in the recruitment of 9 practitioners working in Kindergarten to post secondary contexts. Eight practitioners were alumni of HE programming, and 1 practitioner engaged self-study of HE pedagogy. Each bounded system included the HE practitioner, his or her classroom context, and local school community. Interviews, document review, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis resulted in key themes illuminating the need to design a comprehensive system of field-based learning and ongoing professional support to benefit HE practitioners. A policy recommendation is provided to shape programming, policy development, and resource allocation to improve and sustain HE as a field of study and professional practice.

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Le parc national Banff, joyau du réseau de Parcs Canada, est l’objet d’une anomalie : il contient une ville à l’intérieur même de ses frontières. Si, au moment de la création de Banff, les gestionnaires du parc jugeaient le développement urbain compatible avec ces espaces protégés, depuis les années 1980, leur priorité est passée à la protection de la nature. Bien que la Loi sur les parcs nationaux du Canada prévoit que les parcs ont une double fonction, soit l’utilisation par le public et la protection pour les générations futures, le principe de l’intégrité écologique impose un impératif juridique et moral à ce dernier aspect. Dès lors, on imposa à la ville de Banff d’importantes limites à son développement en accord avec le principe d’absence d’effets nuisibles sur l’environnement, parmi lesquelles le plafonnement de sa population à 8000 habitants, la limitation de son périmètre urbain à 3,93 km2, ainsi que sa superficie commerciale plafonnée à 10 %. Il semble ainsi que la ville et le parc national ont une relation d’interdépendance unique, évoluant en fonction de la succession des paradigmes environnementaux. En ajoutant la résilience urbaine à l’équation, nous chercherons à comprendre comment ce concept peut sous-tendre de manière durable la définition du rapport dynamique entre la ville de Banff et les écosystèmes du parc. Ce mémoire sera donc l’occasion d’étayer les multiples politiques de protection de la nature en vigueur à Banff à travers une étude de cas exploratoire, puis de l’interpréter en fonction des différentes éthiques de l’environnement et à travers la théorie de la résilience urbaine. À cet égard, les politiques de protection de la nature seront évaluées en fonction de critères de résilience urbaine identifiés dans la littérature scientifique. / Banff National Park, Parks Canada's jewel, is characterized by a peculiar anomaly: it contains a small town within its boundaries. While at the time of Banff's creation, park managers considered urban development compatible with these protected areas, since the 1980s, their priority then switched to nature protection. Although the Canada National Parks Act states that parks have a dual function of public use and protection for future generations, the principle of ecological integrity places a legal and moral imperative on the latter. As a result, the town of Banff was subject to significant limitations on its development consistent with the “no net negative environmental impact” principle, including a population cap of 8,000, a town perimeter limit of 3.93 km2, and a commercial land area limit of 10%. It thus seems that the town and the national park have a unique interdependent relationship, evolving according to the succession of environmental paradigms. By adding urban resilience to the equation, we will seek to understand how this concept can sustainably underpin the definition of the dynamic relationship between the town of Banff and the park’s ecosystems. This master’s thesis will therefore be an opportunity to identify the multiple nature protection policies enforced in Banff through an exploratory case study, then to interpret it according to the different environmental ethics and through the urban resilience theory. Nature protection policies will also be evaluated according to the urban resilience criteria found in the literature on the subject.

Cette recherche vise à cibler le problème environnemental de la prolifération des algues bleu-vert au Québec, de déterminer les acteurs responsables de ce problème et de proposer des solutions politiques à long terme pour le résoudre. Dans la première partie, empirique, du travail, nous présentons la problématique de ce problème environnemental et ses causes. Par une étude de cas du lac Bromont, nous identifions les acteurs individuels et collectifs et montrons que des chercheurs ont proposé des solutions concrètes à long terme pour éradiquer les causes de la prolifération. Dans notre deuxième partie, normative, de notre recherche, nous discutons le principe de responsabilité de Hans Jonas et son principe de précaution, qui nous permet de formuler des principes d’actions éthiques concrètes, qui déterminent ce que les différents acteurs devraient faire : se demander ce que peut supporter la nature, d’inclure des questions de préservation et de prévention dans les prises de décision et opter pour des solutions à long terme. Dans la troisième partie du mémoire, nous posons la question : que peuvent faire les différents acteurs. Nous analysons la capacité des différents acteurs à assumer leurs responsabilités et ainsi à intervenir. L’analyse montre que la plupart des acteurs qui ont le plus de pouvoir d’agir n’en font pas usage en raison de leurs intérêts politiques. En reliant les trois parties de notre recherche, nous établissons pourquoi les acteurs ont une obligation morale d’utiliser leurs pouvoirs d’intervenir à bon escient et développons des pistes de solutions. / This research is about the environmental problem of blue-green algae proliferation in Quebec, to determine which agents are responsible for this problem and to propose long-term political solutions to solve it. In the first, empirical, part of the work, we present the problematic of this environmental issue and its causes. Through a case study of Lake Bromont, we identify the individual and collective agents and show that researchers have proposed concrete long-term solutions to eradicate the causes of the proliferation. In the second, normative, part of our research, we discuss Hans Jonas' principle of responsibility and his precautionary principle that allows us to formulate principles for concrete ethical actions. This allows us to determine what the different agents should do: ask themselves what nature can support, include questions of preservation and prevention in decision-making, and adopt long-term solutions. In the third part of the thesis, we ask the question: what can the different agents do? We analyze the capacity of the different agents to assume their responsibilities and thus to intervene. The analysis shows that most of the agents who have the most power to act do not use it because of their political interests. By connecting the three parts of our research, we establish why agents have a moral obligation to use their powers to intervene appropriately and develop possible solutions.