Environmental Ethics (eBook)

Michael Boylan is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Marymount University. He is the author and editor of 26 books, including his manifesto on social/political philosophy A Just Society (2004), and on cosmopolitanism Morality and Global Justice: Justifications and Applications (2011). Boylan was himself the focus of an edited volume, Morality and Justice: Reading Boylan's A Just Society (2009). He has served on professional and governmental policy committees and was a fellow at the Center for American Progress and a program presenter at The Brookings Institution. He has been an invited speaker in nine countries around the world, including talks in Oxford, Cambridge, Cologne, Oslo, Dublin, Sydney, and the Sorbonne.

Notes on Contributors x

Preface to the Second Edition xii

Source Credits xiv

Part I Theoretical Background 1

1 Ethical Reasoning 3
Michael Boylan

2 The Self in Context: A Grounding for Environmentalism 14
Michael Boylan

Evaluating a Case Study: Developing a Practical EthicalViewpoint 25

3 Worldview Arguments for Environmentalism 32

A. The Land Ethic and Deep Ecology 35

The Land Ethic 35
Aldo Leopold

The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary42
Arne Naess

What Is Social Ecology? 46
Murray Bookchin

B. Eco-Feminism and Social Justice 59

Ecofeminism and Feminist Theory 59
Carolyn Merchant

The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism 64
Karen J. Warren

Patently Wrong: The Commercialization of Life Forms 71
Wanda Teays

C. Aesthetics 83

Aesthetics and the Value of Nature 83
Janna Thompson

Worldview and the Value-Duty Link to Environmental Ethics95
Michael Boylan

Evaluating a Case Study: Finding the Conflicts 109

4 Anthropocentric versus Biocentric Justifications 115

A. Anthropocentric Justifications 118

Human Rights and Future Generations 118
Alan Gewirth

Environmental Values, Anthropocentrism and Speciesism 122
Onora O'Neill

B. Biocentric Justifications 135

Environmental Ethics: Values in and Duties to the Natural World135
Holmes Rolston III

Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics 152
Paul W. Taylor

C. Searching the Middle 163

Reconciling Anthropocentric and Nonanthropocentric EnvironmentalEthics 163
James P. Sterba

On the Reconciliation of Anthropocentric and NonanthropocentricEnvironmental Ethics 176
Brian K. Steverson

Reconciliation Reaffirmed: A Reply to Steverson 186
James P. Sterba

Evaluating a Case Study: Assessing Embedded Levels 191

Part II Applied Environmental Problems 199

5 Pollution and Climate Change 201

A. Air and Water Pollution 203

Blue Water 203
Michael Boylan

Polluting and Unpolluting 216
Benjamin Hale

Moral Valuation of Environmental Goods 231
Mark A. Seabright

B. Climate Change 243

Does a Failure in Global Leadership Mean It's All Over?Climate, Population, and Progress 243
Ruth Irwin

Collective Responsibility and Climate Change 257
Seumas Miller

Evaluating a Case Study: Applying Ethical Issues 268

6 Animal Rights 275

All Animals Are Equal 277
Peter Singer

The Radical Egalitarian Case for Animal Rights 291
Tom Regan

A Critique of Regan's Animal Rights Theory 300
Mary Anne Warren

Mary Anne Warren and "Duties to Animals" 308
Michael Boylan

Against Zoos 313
Dale Jamieson

Evaluating a Case Study: Structuring the Essay 321

7 Sustainability 329

A. Sustainability: What It Is and How It Works 331

Defining Sustainability Ethics 331
Randall Curren

A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics,and the Problem of Moral Corruption 345
Stephen M. Gardiner

Sustainability and Adaptation: Environmental Values and theFuture 358
Bryan G. Norton

B. Sustainability and Development 371

'Sustainable Development': Is It a Useful Concept?371
Wilfred Beckerman

On Wilfred Beckerman's Critique of Sustainable Development387
Herman E. Daly

Evaluating a Case Study: Cases on Sustainability 393

Further Reading 394

"This collection of essays on environmental ethics, now in
its second edition, is invaluable. It contains not just the classic
ground-breaking essays on the land ethic, on shallow and deep
ecology, and on socialist and feminist approaches to the
environment (by Leopold, Naess, Bookchin, Merchant and others), but
also up-to-the-minute essays on key issues, including
anthropocentrism and speciesism and the rights of future
generations, as well as reviewing the arguments around climate
change. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to
sharpen their moral awareness in addressing the global
environmental crisis."

--Dermot Moran, University College Dublin

"Boylan combines provocative readings on animals,
environment and sustainability, with object lessons in how to think
clearly about tricky cases. A neat feature of the book is the way
in which the cases are deftly woven into the structure of the
collection. The result is a hands-on guide on how to think
clearly about some of the baffling issues in environmental
ethics."

--Andrew Brennan, La Trobe University