Permaculture Ethic

Permaculture is a system of agriculture and society whose design is inspired by patterns observed in natural ecosystems. As Mollison states: "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; "[1]. The Permaculture movement began in the 1970's as an alternative farming strategy that seeks "permanent agriculture". The term evolved to permanent-culture, since the social aspects are important in the agriculture. The term permaculture goes beyond food production, it is a sustainable system that provides food, energy, shelter, as well as the social components [2][3].

This is an example of ethos because “Generally speaking, it might be said that discipline are techniques for assuring the ordering of human multiplicities. It is true that there is nothing exceptional or even characteristics in this: every system or power or presented with the same problem” ( Foucault, 2012, p. 207). Foucault was a French historian and philosopher. He had a strong influence in philosophy, but also in a wide range of humanistic and social scientific disciplines. Foucault was the philosopher who created the term, “Panopticism”.

1. Formation of humanistic-altruistic system of values, becomes: "Practice of loving-kindness and equanimity within context of caring consciousness" (p. 468).

Growing up in Switzerland and Oregon, I learned that nature is greatly valued and it is necessary to respect the environment to prevent impending environmental collapse. Living in a society whose morals and ethics include

Anthropocentrism are people who have centered view of our relationship with the environment. People who follow this ethic are described as those who deny, or overlook and devalues the notion of nonhuman things. Biocentrism is defined as intrinsic value to certain living things or to biotic realm in general. In this life the human life and nonhuman life both have ethical standing. Ecocentrism judges actions in terms of their effects on whole ecological systems which consists of living and nonliving elements and their interrelationships (Wihgottt & Laposata, Environment, page

Caring for this earth is a duty of our faith and a way to respect God’s creations. Regardless of a person’s background, culture, or religious preferences, we are all called to protect the planet on which we live to preserve the future of the earth. As stewards and stewardesses called by God to share the responsibility for the future of the earth, we must work to protect all of creation for the sake of future

that farming is a way of life that is handed down from generation to generation,

This is an example of ethos because in

“The Land Ethic” is an essay written by Aldo Leopald in order to convince readers of a new view centered around the biotic community and the rejection of anthropocentrism. It continually supports non-human life along with human life as long as it is beneficial to the biotic community.

Local sustainable farming has many attributes, but one of the most important is to preserve the quality of the environment. Even though farming is not a new concept, many people do not know what it is or how it works, yet most of them think that food just comes from supermarkets. The current industrial agriculture system have improved the yields of production by growing monocrops such as corn and soy, which in turn is leading the land to erosion. It has also implemented the use of new technologies, mechanization, chemical products, and government policies (Ingels, Campbell 1.) However, it has had significant costs. Land deterioration, water contamination, and human health problems related to diet are some of them. As the industrial farms, sustainable farms also have high yield of production. As shown in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” Polyface, a local sustainable farm located in virginia, produces in a season: 30,000 dozen eggs, 10,000 broilers, 800 stewing hens, 25,000 Lbs of beef, 25,000 lbs of pork, 1,000 turkeys, and 500 rabbits (14). Opposite to Industrial farming, local sustainable agriculture is helping the land recover thanks to the implementation of multicropping and the use of

Aldo Leopold is on the forefather of modern environmentalism. His book, A Sand County Almanac, is based on the notion of viewing land as a community and as a commodity. In the chapter “The Land Ethic”, Leopold invokes a rethinking of our relationships to our world and is based on the principle that ethics are “a process in ecological evolution” (238). Leopold describes the stages of ethic evolving and explains that the rules for socializing were originally defined for human beings. These rules are expanded upon in the next stage of “Ethical Sequence” (237-238), describing how humans interact toward their community. The third stage is the ethics between humans and the land. Upon analyzing “The Land Ethic” I have come to the conclusion that in order to have respect and ethic for land, or anything, one must make a personal connection.

With the nation’s available farmland settled and its industrial economy rapidly expanding, many farmers worried that agriculture will be marginalized. From 1900- 1945 industrialist and businesses called for an efficient, scientific and large scale agriculture as a means of economic progression; however, Horticulturalist, Liberty Hyde Bailey, envisioned and updated agrarian culture, which is founded on values of community, conservation, appreciation of nature and practicing a more ecologically based “permanent agriculture.” Liberty Hyde Bailey advanced the notion that “good part of agriculture is to learn how to adapt one’s work to nature.” Bailey along with others envisioned through The Holy Earth a stable agricultural and rural sector founded upon soil conservation and the application of ecological principles. The combination of higher education, with a spirit of community work and integrating “expert knowledge,” became the new agrarian vision. Essentially, with The Holy Earth, Bailey challenged the culture —the people-centeredness—of a defenseless world, which will greatly affect the earth ecologically if there is no balance between rural civilization and technological progression.

Another adjustment to the microscope, and we can examine Leopold's biocentric opinion of how environmental ethics should be governed. His approach enlarges the moral category to include soils, waters, plants and animals and claims our obligation is to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. Philosophers Devall and Sessions further define the biocentric view with the concept of deep ecology. Devall and Sessions argue that "the well-being and flourishing of human and non-human life have value in themselves. These values are independent of the usefulness of the non-human world for human purposes." (503)

Paul Taylor approaches “respect for nature” as a moral attitude, meaning that if an individual is unable to comprehend the “meaning and conditions of applicability” of the attitude, they are also unable to have the attitude as a part of their “moral outlook” (Taylor 103). “Respect for nature” is defined by two essential concepts, the good of a being, and the concept of inherent worth.

To keep our environment healthy, all these element need to work together. There are no global laws protecting the environment and that is why everyone should practice good ethics when it comes to the environment. Environmental ethics is the part of environment philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from only including hum and to non-humans. There are many ethical decisions that human beings make with respect to the environment. Humans are been considered of rational agents because they have clear preference, models uncertainty via expected values, and always to perform the action with the optimal expected outcome of itself. The action of the rational agent performs depends on the