Human Liability Theory: Ethical Approach towards Agriculture and Environment

Preserving and developing agriculture and natural resources depend on a number of factors, including agricultural and environmental ethics. In evaluating ethical behavior, programs, and initiatives in the agricultural sector, various theories have been proposed of them the following three theories for their ability to communicate and applicability among users have been the most recognized: Utilitarianism, Virtue theory, and the theory of Right task-oriented. According to Islamic teachings and ethical recommendations towards natural resources and agriculture a need for developing a definition of a culturally based theory, was felt and in this regard, this study was designed. The Islamic scholars and thinkers’ viewpoints as well as scientific resources and ideas were reviewed, and based on the findings an ethical theory: “Human Liability towards Agriculture" was defined. The research methodologies were: comparative studies, archival research, and the Delphi technique. The participants in the three-round Delphi implementation were theologists and ethics experts as well as some agriculture faculty members familiar with the concepts of environmental ethics and moral principles. The results set up a list of 40 criteria to assess the environmental moral theories mentioned. The study also showed that each of the aforementioned theories of special abilities, but in other aspects of weak or no opinion, but the theory of “human liability” in most measures, enjoys a high rating. Statistical comparison between the four orbital theories shows that Human Liability Theory is the most significantly powerful to assess ethical behaviors toward agriculture and the environment. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the orbital theory of human liability to be used in the preparation of cultural attachment projects for agricultural development and environmental programs, and by experts and planners in the development of moral and judicial courts.