Nature, ethnoknowledge, and culture: a look at bioethics

Abstract

This article shows a brief overview concerning to the situation of environ-mental bioethics, by means of the study of the correlation between three concepts: nature, ethno-knowledge and culture. To that purpose, it acknowledges notions such as instrumental and intrinsic value and recognizes that entities and no human systems have a value that doesn´t come from use but from the ethical value given by humans. It also outlines an analysis of some of the extreme solutions (free-market economy, the principle "the polluter pays", environmental economics, precautionary principle and radical biocentrism) that have been raised from environmental policies to the concern of the no-human world. Finally, it reiterates the importance of a plural thought both biological and cultural, which allows man to be conceived as an active part of the complex interaction system that biosphere is, through profound changes in lifestyles, criteria and current practices.