Description

Garrett Hardin (1915-2003) was trained as an ecologist and microbiologist. He is best known for his 1968 essay, The Tragedy of the Commons. A common thread throughout his work is an interest in bioethics. Dr. Hardin viewed bioethics as more than just ethics applied to biological problems. He referred to "toughlove ethics" built on a biological foundation.. In his book Filters Against Folly, 1985, he argues that the tools required for biological ethical analysis are literacy (the correct use of words), numeracy (dealing with quantities) and ecolacy (the study of relationships over time). Hardin Stated: "We have to get the world to accept the idea of limits. It goes into every decision we make. This will not be anything new. It will be a return to the conservatism of humanity for all but the last 500 years. We can have change at the intellectual level, where the resources involved are ideas. But there are limits on material resources. And we have to learn to live within limits."