Research On Ralston Natural Value Theory

Since twentieth Century, with the progress of modern science and technology andthe development of the social productivity, accelerating the process of human civilization,at the same time, the human beings are faced with serious challenges about a series ofmajor problems. The problems of population growth, excessive consumption ofresources, climate changing,environmental pollution and ecological damage threaten thedevelopment of people. In view of the increasingly serious problems, many knowledgepeople conduct a thorough reflection on the various aspects of humans. Westernenvironmental ethicists tried to set up a brand-new ethics and value system from thecriticism of traditional ethical concept and viewpoint of value, in order to completelysolve the ecological predicament that the mankind faces at present. They started fromdifferent environmental resources, thinking over the position of the relationship betweenman and nature. Which enjoys the father of environmental ethics of westernenvironmental ethicists Holmes Rawls thought is particularly prominent. Holmes Rolstonis the most famous contemporary non anthropocentric environmental ethics, naturalvalue theory is the core of environmental ethics. Rolston believes that the objective valueis in the nature based on the moral obligation. In this paper, taking the theory of naturalvalue as the center of the Rawls Dayton environmental ethics researching, the theoreticalbackground of the first chapter mainly discusses the nature value theory of Science:philosophy background, and in detail introduced the development of the westernenvironmental ethics, the process of Rolston thought in the development of theenvironmental ethics, in order to expand the field of vision, better analysis of the sourceof his thought. The second chapter focuses on the discussion and analysis the main ideasand characteristics of Rawls Dayton nature value theory. From the point of view of"value", taking “value” as the foundation of environmental ethics, and then on the basisof environmental ethics to construct the theory of natural value system, and pointing outthat the most important feature of value is its analy about fourteen kinds of value. Thendividing the analysis of Rolston’s natural value into the concept of instrumental value,intrinsic value and system value ". Finally elaborating the application about theory of natural value in reality: the application in public policy, in the enterprise and the personalmoral beliefs. In the third chapter, Rolston’s ideas are analyzed and summed up,contributiing the environmental ethics and its influence to contemporary significance.