At the heart of many environmental issues are the philosophical and ethical standards that guide people in their responses to the environment. Whether or not a given individual will act responsibly toward the environment is a function of his feeling of responsibility for and commitment to environmental concerns. Three concepts stand out as governing philosophies that impact environmental concerns-environmental pragmatism, ethical relativism, and ethical pluralism.
             Environmental pragmatism is an offshoot of philosophical pragmatism that puts an environmental spin on it (Mintz). This concept is treated thoroughly in a collection of essays, Environmental Pragmatism, by Andrew Light and Eric Katz, who define the concept as "a cluster of related and overlapping concepts" that can take one of four forms, that either examine the connection between pragmatism and environmental issues, articulate practical strategies for bridging gaps between environmental theorists and activists or theorists, investigate the overlap between environmental organizations and movements, or propound general arguments for moral pluralism in environmental normative theory (Mintz). Another way of expressing this concept is that "our ideas, theories, and worldviews should be examined and evaluated in the light of their impact on lived experience, according to how well they enable us to maneuver through experience successfully" (Reitan).
             Ethical or moral relativism asserts that ethical or moral propositions "do not reflect absolute and universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical, or personal circumstances" ("Moral Relativism"). Relativistic thinkers view ethical and moral values as applicable only within certain contexts or boundaries. Where environmental pragmatism suggests that the ends justify the means, this philosophy suggests that anything is acceptable in the appropria...