Ecological Ethics and Environmental Consciousness in Bond’s Selected Short Stories

Abstract

The term ethics means enquiry about ways of life and rules of conduct. In the past, philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Hobbes, Spinoza and many others would give general guidance to public regarding what to do, what to seek and how to behave with others . They would enlighten people with general crucial knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong on the basis of which one could take unwavering and unerring decisions. We must not forget that right from Plato to Russell, philosophers have always involved themselves by employing the philosophical techniques for the solution of practical problems. During the 21st Century, there has been 
unprecedented growth and development in Science, industry, management study, computronics, and cybernetics. One’s thinking raises many questions and philosophical issues which are dominantly ethical. We can’t ignore the fact that the modern technology has enabled us to earn material prosperity quite unequalled in the history of mankind at the cost of many precious 
things especially environment which has compelled even writers to talk of it in their writings. In fact, a particular school of criticism popularly known as Ecocriticism was born on the literary map of the world. It is a literary criticism from an environmentalist view point. Here, texts are evaluated in terms of their environmentally harmful or helpful effects. Beliefs and ideologies are assessed for their environmental implications.