United States
£ GBP
In the face of accelerating extinctions across the globe, what ought we to do? Amid this sea of losses, what is our responsibility? How do we assess the value of nonhuman species? In this clear-spoken, passionate book, naturalist and philosopher Edward L. McCord explores urgent questions about the destruction of species and provides a new framework for appreciating and defending every form of life.
The Value of Species draws insights from philosophy, ethics, law, and biology to arrive at a new way of thinking about the value of each species on earth. With meticulous reasoning, McCord demonstrates that the inherent value of species to humanity is intellectual: individual species are phenomena of such intellectual moment – so interesting in their own right – that they rise above other values and merit enduring attention. The author discusses the threats other species confront and delineates the challenges involved in creating any kind of public instrument to protect species. No other scholar has spoken on behalf of biodiversity with such eloquence and passion, and none provides greater inspiration to defend nonhuman forms of life.
Edward L. McCord is director of programming and special projects, University Honors College, University of Pittsburgh. He also is director of the university's Yellowstone Field Course and the Allen L. Cook Spring Creek Preserve near Laramie, Wyoming.
"This pithy little book fills an important niche in motivating further discourse toward understanding human agency over the environment."
- Oswald Schmitz, Oastler Professor, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
"This fine meditation on the reasons that human society – all too driven by immediate economic interests--should respect the wonder and mystery of nature and preserve species into the future makes an important contribution to environmental virtue ethics."
- Mark Sagoff, Director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University
"This is a remarkable book at the intersection of philosophy, ethics, and biology and addresses why we should care from the perspective of human values in an arresting and effective way[...]wonderfully written and accessible to any educated reader."
- Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy, George Mason University
"Eloquent, succinct, and compelling, Edward McCord's book shows brilliantly why we should all care about other species, not just for their sake, but for ours."
- Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Dominant Animal
