Short Answer Question 1
For the following questions, you must answer IN YOUR OWN WORDS (no copying/pasting from an outside source, including from other students or the PowerPoints)
Recall the “Last Man” argument proposed by Richard Routley (AKA Richard Sylvan). Suppose you were the last surviving human being on Earth, and all other human and sentient animals have died before you. For some reason, this thought runs through your head: “Before I die, it sure would be fun to torch the last remaining Redwood tree.” In this imaginary scenario, the tree would continue to flourish and propagate if you left it alone. Furthermore, you will not suffer if you do not destroy it. Answer the following questions given this scenario:
a) Imagine you live according to anthropocentric ethics. In this case, do you think you would be doing anything wrong by destroying the tree? Why/why not?
b) Imagine you live according to bio centric or eccentric ethics. In this case, do you think you would be doing anything wrong by destroying the tree? Why/why not?
Short Answer Question 2
As you have learned, human overpopulation has been the focus of many ethical studies already.
What policies can you recommend for people, governments, and/or societies to take in order to help alleviate the growing resource demands of population growth?
Describe at least two policies that you would recommend to help solve the problem of rapid population growth.