Ethics and the Environment: An Introduction

Description

What is the environment, and how does it figure in an ethical life? This book is an introduction to the philosophical issues involved in this important question, focussing primarily on ethics but also encompassing questions in aesthetics and political philosophy. Topics discussed include the environment as an ethical question, human morality, meta-ethics, normative ethics, humans and other animals, the value of nature, and nature's future. The discussion is accessible and richly illustrated with examples. The book will be valuable for students taking courses in environmental philosophy, and also for a wider audience in courses in ethics, practical ethics, and environmental studies. It will also appeal to general readers who want a reliable and sophisticated introduction to the field.

Dale Jamieson is Director of Environmental Studies at New York University, where he is also Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy, and Affiliated Professor of Law.

'The sooner we start addressing environmental issues as ethical and moral issues the better, for that is what they are. Dale Jamieson is not only an outstanding environmental ethicist but also a great teacher who knows his science as well as his philosophy. All this shows, indeed, shines, in his excellent new book Ethics and the Environment: An Introduction. We've heard a lot about environmental issues from scientists, economists and lawyers. It's time we listened more to the philosophers, preachers, poets and psychologists.' James Gustave Speth, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies 'In Ethics and the Environment Dale Jamieson introduces us to the full array of issues in meta-ethics, ethical theory, and the theory of value that we must assimilate in order to fully understand and evaluate the effects of human action and inaction upon nature. Empirically well-informed and crisply written, challenging but never preachy, this beautifully conceived book is by a true master of the subject.' Michael Smith, Department of Philosophy, Princeton University