Mahmut ÖZER

On the possibility and necessity of the land ethic

Çevrebilimciler, gerekli önlemler alınmazsa bizim doğayla birlikte yok olabileceğimizi söylüyorlar. Aldo Leopold, bütün bileşenleriyle birlikte tüm doğanın korunması için bizi sorumlu kılacak bir etiğin, evrimsel açıdan mümkün ve çevrebilimsel açıdan zorunlu olduğunu belirtmektedir. Toprak etiği, özellikle bu bütüncü yaklaşımından ötürü eleştirilmektedir. Bu yaklaşımın bireysel hakların ihlal edilmesine, hatta ekofaşizm diye adlandırılan bir tür çevre faşizmine yol açabileceği düşünülmektedir. J. Baird Callicott’un toprak etiğini çevre faşizmi suçlamasından kurtarmak için ileri sürdüğü görüşlerse toprak etiğini güçsüzleştirmekte ve Callicott’un savunduğunun aksine, onu insanmerkezci yapmaktadır. Bu yazıda, toprak etiğinin karşı karşıya bulunduğu bu ikilemin, Leopold’ün görüşleri ile uyumlu olarak, zayıf insanmerkezci bir etik anlayışla giderilebileceği iddia edilmektedir.

Toprak etiğinin olabilirliği ve zorunluluğu üzerine

Environmental scientists warn us that we, together with nature, might be doomed unless necessary measures are taken. Aldo Leopold asserts that an ethic which makes us responsible for the preservation of whole nature, with all its constituents, is evolutionarily possible and ecologically necessary. Land ethic has been especially criticized for its holistic perspective. For this may lead to violation of individual rights, and to a sort of fascism, called ecofascism. J. Baird Callicott’s attempts to save land ethic from ecofascism make land ethic impotent to save nature, and contrary to his intentions, also anthropocentric. In this paper, it is argued that this dilemma that land ethic faces can be resolved by endorsing a weak anthropocentric position, which is fairly compatible with Leopold's own views.

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