Kantian Ethics and Environmental Philosophy

The most sustained analysis of Kant's thinking on obligations and desires, connecting his readings of ancient philosophy with pressing questions in contemporary environmental philosophy.

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Human beings have desires and obligations. A Kantian framework reveals the morally significant conflict between these two. In the context of looming environmental crises of our own making, we may be forced in many respects to choose between environmental obligations and the pursuit of our well-being. Kantian Ethics and Environmental Philosophy begins by examining a tendency in philosophical thought as old as the Ancient Greeks: the temptation to minimize or even theorize away such conflicts. By contrast, this book argues that acknowledging the reality of the choices ahead is a necessary first step to forming a coherent and rational hope for a better world.