Ethical Foundations of the Sustainability and the Sustainable Development

Dublin Core

Title

Ethical Foundations of the Sustainability and the Sustainable Development

Author

Ayça, Berna Görmez
Fatih Yaman, Yaman

Abstract

The concept of sustainability or sustainable development emerged as a concern in early 1980’s. It was equated with the environmental issues firstly. Then, it attained economic and social meanings as well. Nevertheless, the value of the lastly attained meaning of sustainability, which is social, is highly neglected. Sustainable development or sustainability is not just about ecology or natural resources. It is about the relationship between these resources and individuals and thus sustainability encompasses all kinds of issues related to human beings as sustainable, i.e ecological development, cannot be imagined without human beings living in it. In this study, sustainability will be evaluated as a value system that highlights the importance of continuation of natural as well as cultural resources. Although the term sustainability or sustainable development became famous in late 20th century, as a value system, its existence may be traced back to the ancient Greece. In the writings of early political philosophers, it is possible to find the emphasis on the importance of nature, reproduction, importance of future generations, significance of continuation of cultures and human kind, which are the core intentions behind the need for sustainable development and the term sustainability embraces all of these subjects. In the context of this study, the writings of Aristotle, Kant, Mill, will be analyzed with an aim of finding the foundations of the concept of sustainability

Keywords

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

Date

2012-05-31

Extent

1139

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