Following on from the topic of animal ethics, the world around us consists of many different kinds of natural elements, such as flora, minerals and waterways — all of which are influenced by human activity. The built environment can be of benefit to humanity, but to what extent should it influence or damage the biosphere?

One philosophical approach is that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose work proposes that the natural state of the world is genuine and harmonious, something that education and politics should reflect, with the innate goodness of the natural environment reflected in the self. This romantic approach can also be seen in the poetry of Wordsworth and the writings of Thoreau and Emerson. In more recent years, Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons”, Rachael Carson’s “Silent Spring” and philosophers Paul Taylor, John Muir, Peter Vardy and Michael Smith, have written on how the rights of the planet are just as valid as human rights.

With increasing levels of mining, property development, clearance of forests, species loss, climate change and the growth of cities, how we should best consider the balance of the natural world with civilisation becomes a crucial part of ethical inquiry. How much should we give way to development and technological progress, at the risk of damaging the planet?