ABSTRACT
In Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Jeremy Bentham defines happiness as pleasure and argues that animal suffering should be considered in predicting what actions will yield the most pleasure. This chapter assesses how current science limits as well as expands our knowledge. It considers how our understanding of evolution and ecology is relevant for doing environmental ethics. Traditional ethics has limited the moral community to humans and their institutions. On the basis of current science, however, people may decide that it is rational to ascribe moral consideration to other organisms and species, and also to ecosystems. When Charles Darwin described evolution as the result of "natural selection," he was drawing an analogy to the breeding of animals. It was well known that breeding stock with certain traits led to changes in a species.
