Indian Environmental Ethics

Abstract

A better understanding of the environmental problems require to rest on some basic issues such as the metaphysical foundations must be brought into alignment with ecology which is the principal basic science of the environment and an ethical theory must be enlarged so as to include within its purview both nonhuman natural entities. Environmental ethics is one surrounded by several new kinds of functional philosophies, which arose during the seventies. That is, it may be understood to be an application of ingrained orthodox philosophical categories to emergent everyday environmental problems. Indian philosophy has an eagle eyed lenses of viewing the relation of humans with nature and how human beings should behave with the nature/environment. The root of environmental issues can be traced back to the days of Vedic and Upaniṣadic period of Indian Philosophy along with the period of Purānas, Rāmāyana, Mahābhārata and Manusmriti. The plugs on intrinsic values, the core of environmental philosophy, were rarely discussed in Vedas and Upaniṣads. However, the concept of it, though not like western terminology, can be understood from different metaphysical entities; four Purusarthas of Indian philosophy and Ahimsa from Gandhian Philosophy contribute significantly to the Indian environmental ethics.