Images and Ethics of Nature

Abstract

Science generates an image of nature as devoid of meaning or value, and this image makes moral limits on the human manipulation of nature appear irrational. in part, this results from the particular kind of abstraction that constitutes scientific activity. for both epistemological and practical reasons, this abstraction should not be taken as the only reality of nature. such mis-taking becomes increasingly likely--and dangerous--as science and technology are used in the construction of the world within which we experience nature and ourselves. three alternative images of nature are discussed to indicate other possibilities. imaging nature as an interconnected network, a view rooted in both ecology and buddhism, is a more comprehensive and adequate foundation for conceptualizing the practical and ethical dimensions of humanity's relation with nature.