ECOLOGICAL ETHICS: TOWARDS AN EDUCATION OF TECHNO-DIVERSITY

Abstract

The sustainable development is a big challenge for the end of the century due to earth evolution linked with anthropic activities: climate change, resources depletion, health stakes and related problems will change the way we live. Engineering design activities will have to evolve to address in a different way human’s needs and also new kinds of needs. The ability to change design practices will depend on the way to think the relationship between human and nature. Ethics has a specific place for that. The proposed paper deals with ecological ethics and discuss the way it can be addressed concerning technology and the way it can be taught in terms of pedagogical methods. A first part discusses the concept of ecological ethics and proposes to avoid environmental ethics but develop an ethics of the environment. This position enables to defend to transfer the biodiversity characteristic to techno-diversity one in order to ensure adaptation and resilience, future will require for being able to keep health, comfort levels within environmental constraints. The requirement of a pragmatic approach of ethics and ecology is highlighted to be able to face and be conscious of diversity of situations. Then, a discussion on pedagogy of ecological ethics is done and shows how the link must be built with society, into pedagogical activities.