Ralston’s Environmental Ethics Thought Research

The 20th century is a period of great achievements in the development of human science,and technology has changed the way people live.At the same time,the ecological crisis intensified,and people realized the seriousness of the problem.Environmental ethic scholars began to study environmental ethics to protect the ecological environment.As a representative figure in the field of environmental ethics thought,Ralston’s thought provided a new perspective for the relationship between man and nature,and enriched the connotation of ecological ethics.The background of Ralston’s environmental ethics thought comes from the inspiration of his time and the school of environmental ethics.In the 1960s,the environmental protection movement prevailed in the United Kingdom.In the eyes of the members of the environmental movement,science has created the prosperity of life and destroyed the order and stability of the ecosystem.The concept of global protection of the environment has become a worldwide trend.Focus on the fate of all human beings and the entire natural world.In addition,Ralston’s environmental ethics thought was also influenced by anthropocentrism,animal rights theory and animal liberation theory,biocentrism,ecocentrism and so on.,Ralston formed a systematic ideology.Ralston also pointed out that environmental ethics explores the value basis established for the moral connection between man and nature by analyzing the value relationship between man and nature.Starting from conforming to the basic values of nature,we seek a natural ethics.In addition,talking about natural value must be involved in personal subjective experience,and the subjectivity and objectivity of value must be clarified from the discussion of value,human experience and subjective preference.Extending morality to animals,plants,species,and ecosystems,redefining the boundaries of human moral obligations,implies a change in the way of thinking about values.Ralston’s thought of environmental ethics is mainly composed of natural value theory,ecological system theory and wilderness practice view.In the aspect of natural value theory,he proved that natural value is scientific and objective,and nature has its own value norm and evaluation principle.In terms of ecosystem theory,the unit of ecosystem value generation is the organic system that coordinates other biological species.The cooperation between organisms embodies the harmony of the ecosystem,and the struggle embodies the conflict of individuals.It is in such a characteristic that the ecosystem moves from conflict to adaptation,and produces order spontaneously and regularly.Ralston extends his focus from nature to practice,and discusses the relationship between environmental ethics practice and government policy,business ethics,and individual survival.The value of Ralston’s environmental ethics thought is reflected in the practical application and service of ecological civilization construction.The practice of environmental ethics provides people with ethical principles,and also realizes its own development in serving ecological civilization,which is conducive to realizing people’s needs for a better life.Finally,it dialectically discusses the limits of Ralston in environmental ethics,that is,the dissolution of value subject and value object,and the idealization of value obligation and value hierarchy.