Broad in scope, this introduction to environmental ethics considers both contemporary issues and the extent of humanity's responsibility for distant future life. John Nolt, a logician and environmental ethicist, interweaves contemporary science, logical analysis, and ethical theory into the story of the expansion of ethics beyond the human species and into the far future. Informed by contemporary environmental science, the book deduces concrete policy recommendations from carefully justified ethical principles and ends with speculations concerning the deepest problems of environmental ethics. Pedagogical features include chapter outlines, annotated suggestions for further readings, the explanations of key terms when first mentioned, and an extensive glossary.

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiv

1 Scientific Background 1

1.1 FACT, VALUE AND EVOLUTION

1.2 THE GREAT ISSUES

      1.2.1 POLLUTION

      1.2.2 THREATS TO HUMAN HEALTH

      1.2.3 CLIMATE CHANGE

      1.2.4 NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION

      1.2.5 BIODIVERSITY LOSS

      1.2.6 POPULATION AND CONSUMPTION

1.3 SAVING THE PLANET-OR LIFE, OR US

2 Logic, Prescriptive Reasoning, and Ethical Theories 30

2.1 FUNDAMENTALS OF LOGIC

2.2 PRESCRIPTIVE REASONING

      2.2.1 THE FALLACY OF INFERRING "OUGHT" FROM "IS"

      2.2.2 RULE-BASED PRESCRIPTIVE REASONING

      2.2.3 CONSEQUENTIALIST REASONING

2.3 ETHICAL THEORIES

      2.3.1 DEONTOLOGY

      2.3.2 CONSEQUENTIALISM

      2.3.3 DEONTOLOGY AND CONSEQUENTIALISM CONTRASTED AND CONJOINED

      2.3.4 VIRTUE THEORIES 2.4 WHY CARE?

3 Near-term Anthropocentrism 63

3.1 ANTHROPOCENTRISM

3.2 PREFERENCE UTILITARIANISM

      3.2.1 NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS

      3.2.2 THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

      3.2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

      3.2.4 ETHICAL CRITIQUE OF NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS

      3.2.5 WHY PREFERENCE SATISFACTION IS NOT AN ADEQUATE CONCEPTION OF VALUE

      3.2.6 DEMOCRACY, CONSIDERED PREFERENCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

3.3 OBJECTIVE WELFARE UTILITARIANISM

      3.3.1 OBJECTIVE WELFARE AXIOLOGY AND CHOICE PRINCIPLES

      3.3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF OBJECTIVE WELFARE UTILITARIANISM

      3.3.3 CRITIQUE OF OBJECTIVE WELFARE UTILITARIANISM

3.4 DEONTOLOGY

      3.4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

      3.4.2 CLIMATE CHANGE AND INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

3.5 OTHER APPROACHES

      3.5.1 FEMINISM AND ECOFEMINISM

      3.5.2 CARE ETHICS AND OTHER RELATIONAL ETHICS

      3.5.3 PLURALISM AND PRAGMATISM

3.6 BEYOND NEAR-TERM ANTHROPOCENTRISM

4 Long-term Anthropocentrism 93

4.1 THE MORAL STATUS OF FUTURE PEOPLE

      4.1.1 WHY FUTURE PEOPLE MATTER

      4.1.2 DO FUTURE PEOPLE MATTER LESS?

      4.1.3 SOCIAL DISCOUNT RATES

4.2 THE PURE INTERGENERATIONAL PROBLEM

4.3 COMMUNITARIANISM

4.4 DEONTOLOGY

      4.4.1 KANTIAN DEONTOLOGY

      4.4.2 RAWLSIAN CONTRACTUALIST DEONTOLOGY

      4.4.3 CRITIQUE OF DEONTOLOGY

4.5 THE NON-IDENTITY PROBLEM

4.6 UTILITARIANISM

      4.6.1 AXIOLOGY

      4.6.2 CHOICE PRINCIPLES AND POPULATION POLICIES

      4.6.3 THE DEMANDINGNESS OBJECTION

      4.6.4 COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS

4.7 SUSTAINABILITY

4.8 THE LIMITS OF RESPONSIBILITY

5 Animal Ethics 124

5.1 HUMAN TREATMENT OF NON-HUMAN ANIMALS

      5.1.1 ANIMALS IN RELIGION

      5.1.2 ANIMALS IN PHILOSOPHY

      5.1.3 ANIMALS IN SCIENCE

      5.1.4 ANIMALS IN AGRICULTURE

5.2 WHAT WE KNOW OF ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS

5.3 THE MORAL STATUS OF SENTIENT ANIMALS

      5.3.1 ANIMAL WELFARE

      5.3.2 REASONS FOR EXCLUDING NON-HUMANS FROM MORAL CONSIDERABILITY

      5.3.3 THE ARGUMENT FROM MARGINAL CASES

5.4 SINGER'S ANIMAL LIBERATION

      5.4.1 SINGER'S CENTRAL ARGUMENT

      5.4.2 THE QUESTION OF KILLING

      5.4.3 VEGETARIANISM

      5.4.4 OBJECTIONS TO SINGER'S THEORY

5.5 A DEONTOLOGICAL ANIMAL ETHIC: TOM REGAN'S THE CASE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS

      5.5.1 REGAN'S AXIOLOGY: INHERENT VALUE

      5.5.2 THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY OF INDIVIDUALS

      5.5.3 THE RESPECT PRINCIPLE

      5.5.4 CONFLICT-RESOLUTION PRINCIPLES

      5.5.5 IMPLICATIONS AND OBJECTIONS

5.6 VARNER'S RULE UTILITARIANISM

5.7 CARRUTHERS' CONTRACTUALISM

5.8 CARE ETHICS

5.9 ROLSTON ON ANIMALS

5.10 PALMER'S RELATIONAL ETHIC

5.11 THE LESSONS OF ANIMAL ETHICS

5.12 ANIMAL ETHICS FOR THE LONG TERM

6 Ethics of Life 160

6.1 GOODS OF THEIR OWN

6.2 GANDHI, NAESS AND DEEP ECOLOGY

6.3 DEONTOLOGICAL BIOCENTRISM

      6.3.1 SCHWEITZER'S REVERENCE FOR LIFE

      6.3.2 TAYLOR'S RESPECT FOR NATURE

      6.3.3 CRITIQUE OF DEONTOLOGICAL BIOCENTRISM

6.4 CONSEQUENTIALIST BIOCENTRISM

      6.4.1 BIOCENTRIC CONSEQUENTIALISM VS. UTILITARIANISM

      6.4.2 THE WELFARE OF LIVING BEINGS

      6.4.3 COMPARING AND AGGREGATING THE WELFARE OF LIVING BEINGS

      6.4.4 BIOCENTRIC CONSEQUENTIALIST DECISION-MAKING

      6.4.5 CRITIQUE OF CONSEQUENTIALIST BIOCENTRISM

6.5 WHY STOP AT ORGANISMS?

6.6 SPECIES ETHICS

      6.6.1 ROLSTON AND THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF SPECIES

      6.6.2 HARGROVE AND INTRINSIC VALUING

      6.6.3 SPECIES WELFARE

      6.6.4 THE VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY

      6.6.5 ENDANGERED SPECIES: LAW, ETHICS AND POLICY

6.7 EGOCENTRISM

      6.7.1 LEOPOLD'S LAND ETHIC

      6.7.2 ECOSYSTEM VALUE

6.8 A PRAGMATIC CRITIQUE OF BIOCENTRISM

6.9 BIOCENTRISM FOR THE LONG TERM

7 Applications and Speculations 205

7.1 SOME CLEAR MORAL IMPERATIVES

      7.1.1 ELIMINATE THE USE OF FOSSIL FUELS

      7.1.2 PROTECT SPECIES AND HABITAT

      7.1.3 EAT ETHICALLY

      7.1.4 BUILD A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

      7.1.5 REDUCE HUMAN POPULATION

7.2 TWO OPEN ETHICAL QUESTIONS

      7.2.1 SHOULD WE GENERATE MORE NUCLEAR POWER?

      7.2.2 WHITHER CONSERVATION?

7.3 PHILOSOPHICAL FUNDAMENTALS

      7.3.1 JUSTIFICATION OF BASIC MORAL PRINCIPLES

      7.3.2 VALUE INCOMPARABILITY

      7.3.3 A GRAND UNIFIED ETHIC?

7.4 ATTUNING POWER AND CARE

7.5 POSTSCRIPT

Notes 246

Glossary 247

References 261

Index 269

John Nolt is a philosophy professor at the University of Tennessee. He began his career as a logician, but soon took to moonlighting as an environmental activist. The activism eventually drew him into academic work in environmental ethics. He has published many articles and several books in both philosophical logic and environmental studies.

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