Environmental Ethics, Law and the State

Abstract

In this study on Environmental Ethics, Law and the State, the purpose is to emphasize the importance of Environmental Ethics, in the 21st century, as a material source of Law, and the duty of protecting the environment, human life and life in every form. It deals with the issue, relevant for our time, regarding the Planet's need for environmental care. The concepts of Environmental Ethics, Ethics as material source of Law and its grounds  will be analyzed, with an emphasis on Hans Jonas' Responsibility principle, the principles of solidarity between generations and the dignity of the human person, paradigms for an actual defense of life in a healthy environment. These paradigms bring justification to the constitutionalization of the Environmental Law of 1988, a shaping device of the Socio-environmental or Ecological State, a model that must take the environment into consideration within a holistic view, as well as the environmental balance adequate to human life and life in all its forms.