The Value in Nature: A Critical Reflection

What is it about?

The relationship between value and nature has been central in the philosophy of the environment and even more in the so-called “environmental ethics”. Nowadays the marriage between value and nature has become even more complex in the wave of the rights of nature movement. The philosophy behind the rights of nature has achieved an undeniable influence within the relatively recent and increasingly widespread juridification of this right of nature, as natural entities are considered “legal subject” or “person”. In this work we defend that such a movement in the domain of law shows a lack of coherence in the domain of normativity. In order to present the argument, we depart from a particular case, the Mar Menor in Spain, of a recent enactment of a lagoon as a legal person. Then it is presented what we consider the three main approaches in ethics of the environment, with an especial emphasis on the so-called “environmental ethics” and the notion of intrinsic value. Finally, we return to the question of the right of nature, and we reach some final considerations. My main goal is modest: it is to raise some conceptual suspicion about by the specific theory effect that philosophical reflection on value in the environment has had on right of nature legislation.

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