Viewpoint of Leopold and Schweitzer about Artificial Destruction of Assignment - 3

Viewpoint of Leopold and Schweitzer about Artificial Destruction of Ecosystem Centers - Assignment Example Various ideas about artificial destruction of ecosystem centers on ethics as a tool of human conscience. The moral obligation of man towards the non-living objects and other living organisms has been proposed by two environmental thinkers in a divergent perspective but convergent basis. Leopold is a proponent of land ethic as a critical moral instrument that should guide human actions towards nature. His claim emphasizes the overriding perception of man that land is a property. His analogy of Odysseus killing his maid servants is a comparative scenario of how man treats land. He argues against the human notion that land should be treated as personal property that can be exposed to destruction at will. Instead Leopold explains that man should consider land as part of ecology in which man is also a member (KohaÃŒ k 88). The point is that land serves as the habitat of several other organisms besides man. In that respect, man’s effort to destroy land interferes with the otherwise complex biotic and abiotic system that constitutes nature.Land ethics is used by Leopold to emphasize the need for a moral conscience of man in his relationship with soil. The description of land in this case encompasses water, soil, wildlife and all living and non-living organisms that make up ecosystem. The relationship that exists between man and land is more of symbiotic and property aspect should not be upheld. The land is considered the source of energy through food chain that ends up sustaining man. Leopold argues that the working of the ecosystem is complex and limited knowledge of man which prompt violent attack on nature is not fair. Man is the only organism with conscience and has the obligation to exercise morality in his treatment of nature. In this respect, Leopold champion for responsibility on the side of man in his desires to satisfy societal needs through nature. Other animals and plants may not have the conscience but it is evident that they always pose limited r isk to the same ecosystem that supports them. The history of evolution and biblical assertions of human superiority over nature assigns moral obligation to do the right thing for sustainable existence.