La expansión de la responsabilidad humana ante la naturaleza

Abstract

For the predominant anthropocentric tradition of our civilization, nature and living organisms possess only an instrumental value, and that is the reason why they have not been subjects of ethical consideration until recently. Enviromental ethics has arisen with the purpose to surpass the arbitrary and prepotent anthropocentrism, but it has to consolidate itself as an ethics of the human resposibility towards nature. This responsibility implies to be in charge of the already provoked damages as well as to prevent future alterations caused by the huge capacity of our technological power. My argument in this article is that it is necessary to find a mediation between an anthropocentric and a biocentric ethic that allows us to establish a new ethical paradigm feasible morally as well as politically.