A Critique of Arguments Against Taking Future Generations Into Account

A Critique of Argu custodyts Against Taking Future Generations Into Account In doing the readings for this week, I noticed that there were fewarguments in advance of ignoring concern for future generations. A largepercentage of the authors seemed to feel that it is our moralisticresponsibility to at least take the well being of future generations into draw in our decision-making (Note these authors also provided us withpowerful arguments as to why we have a moral obligation to futuregenerations). In trying to figure surface why there were so few arguments onthe other side of the issue, I realized that there simply arnt many waysto argue against our moral responsibility to future peoples. I would interchangeableto briefly address the weaknesses in arguments which suggest that weshould not factor the well-being of future generations into ourdecision-making. I would then like to address the issue of whetherproviding for future peoples will result in problems for the presentgenerati on. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I will discuss aweakness which I found in all of the articles, which is in talking somuch about future concerns,it can be easy to lose track of the immediacyof environmental concerns for generations who be already alive.The only real arguments which we read against concern for futurepeoples were found in the Heilbroner article. Heilbroner quotes twodifferent economists, both of whom seem to open fire the same question whyshould I care how long the human species lives? One of the economistsstates that we cant necessarily say that generations who are yet unbornare any better off if they are born than if they are not (quoted in Pojman277). The... ..., I critiqued the two economistsquoted in Heilborns article. To return to them for a minute, both menseemed to miss the point which I just mentioned -- the environmentalcrisis is not simply a matter of whether or not humans survive. Instead,it is a matter of how we are able to live over the next couple ofcenturies (and possibly beyond). entrust the world continue to be plagued byrising cancer rates? Will the air be adequate to breathe withoutdeveloping illness or asthma? Will our children have forests to play in?The answer to these questions lies clearly in our hands and in ourwillingness to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions.Regardless of whether the consequences will occur in twenty minutes, threedays or a year, we must be willing to face up to reality instead of alwaysturning to look the other way.