Original scientific paper
Right to Life or Extinction – Biological Diversity as a Value
Ivan Cifrić
; Odsjek za sociologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Ivana Lučića 3,10 000 Zagreb
Abstract
Relation toward living world (Mitwelt), and questions about biological diversity and extinction of species are becoming actual and important topics of different sciences. Results of perception of living species rights to life and motives for man’s care for living world are analyzing in this paper. The author is answering on three questions, namely what examinees thought about: (1) species right to life, (2) motives for man’s care for living world, and (3) consequences of extinction of living species (including human species). Some of these results are comparing with results from 2005 survey.
The empirical research (survey) was conducted on occasional sample of last year students (N=189; 2007) at three faculties on University in Zagreb. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical methods were used in analysis.
Right to life is defined within three approaches: egalitarianism, anthropocentric exceptionalism, and species struggle for survival. Motives for man’s care for living world are defined within four approaches: ethics (duty), utilitarianism (utility), emotively (emotion) and situational approach (circumstance). Perception of transformation in nature is connected with extinction of vegetation, animal and human species.
Results are showed dominance of “egalitarianism” in right to life and dominance of “ethics” in the man’s treating the living world, in the consciousness of majority of examinees. Furthermore, results are showed that animal species have equal right to life as a man (75.6%), and that the most important motive for man’s care for living world is ethical duty (87.9%). Only small percent of examinees agreed with statement – extinction of many living species (2.1%), or human species (14.8%) would not change anything in the nature.
Keywords
animal egalitarianism; anthropological exclusivity; ethics toward living world; extinction of species; species right to life
Hrčak ID:
219869
URI
Publication date:
3.5.2019.
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