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What is environmental virtue? Is developing good habits enough? What does climate justice require? Is ecological restoration just another form of the human domination of nature?
Exploring these questions and more, this book provides an up-to-date and balanced introduction to environmental ethics. It first examines ethical theory, then ties theory to practice, showing how values guide environmental policies, but also how policies and institutions shape environmental values. Updated and expanded to engage with the latest scholarship, scientific findings, and societal challenges, this 2nd edition features:
- New sections on food ethics, multispecies justice, intergenerational ethics, and the Anthropocene
- Contemporary case studies focusing on the rights of nature, the use of biotechnology in ecological restoration, and just climate transitions
- Expanded coverage of diverse philosophical traditions, including Confucian, Daoist, and Indigenous ethical perspectives
- Updated discussion questions, further reading sections, and online resources
- Exploring the possibilities and limitations inherent in both classical ethical models and modern theoretical approaches to the environment, this is a key resource for teaching students to think ethically about the world we live in.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Part I: Environmental Values
1. Bringing Values to Light
2. Western Ethical Theories and the Environment
3. Anthropocentrism and its Critics: Broadening Moral Concern
4. The Social Dimensions of Environmental Problems
Part II: Environmental Ethics in Practice
5. Ethics, Institutions, and the Environment
6. Global Climate Change
7. Ecological Restoration
8. Engaging Environmental Concern, Promoting Change
Notes
References
Index
Marion Hourdequin is Professor of Philosophy at Colorado College, USA, and President of the International Society for Environmental Ethics.
Reviews of the first edition:
"Hourdequin writes with clarity, depth, and passion, so the book is suitable for nonspecialists."
– K. Doran, Hamilton College, Choice
"What most distinguishes this text [...] is its emphasis on practical action [...] [Hourdequin] presents a diversity of views sympathetically, explains them accurately and assesses them fairly.
– Environmental Values
"The great strength of the text is the variety of ethical approaches on offer [...] Houdequin's book serves as a solid and broad introductory textbook to environmental ethics at an intermediate or senior undergraduate level."
– Ethical Perspectives
"This well-written book works both as an introductory text as well as a review of the topic. The arguments and examples are helpful both for those readers interested in the theoretical background as well as for those more interested in the applied aspects. The examples are well chosen and well presented."
– Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
"Hourdequin's book addresses environmental ethics from theory to practice through a series of well-structured and thought-provoking chapters. [...] [It] stand[s] out from the present-day rich panorama of works regarding environmental ethics and may significantly mark the horizon of future publications in the field."
– Ethics, Policy & Environment
"It is outstanding and commendable as a textbook for both undergraduate and postgraduate alike [...] In short, the book is a pleasure to read [...] Written at a level that any intelligent layperson will appreciate and enjoy. It is an ideal basic introductory to environmental ethics [...] The book is essential reading."
– International Studies in the Philosophy of Science
"In addition to discussing the usual topics and themes, in this engaging new introduction to environmental ethics Marion Hourdequin draws on the insights of Chinese philosophy and focuses on such issues of contemporary concern as climate change, ecological restoration and the problem of defining sustainability."
– Dale Jamieson, Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy, New York University, USA
"Few philosophers and fewer environmental scientists could have written a book that combines a solid grasp of real ethical theory, a full understanding of the current state of the science, and the wisdom that Marion Hourdequin brings to Environmental Ethics. This work is not only an utterly accessible introduction to the field, but a magisterial assessment of the inescapable alternatives it confronts us with."
– Alex Rosenberg, R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy, Duke University, USA
"This engaging and comprehensive introduction to environmental ethics combines directness and clarity with a depth of analysis and distinctiveness of approach that few texts in the field can match. The result is a feast for inquiring minds, an inspiration and aspiration for active ones; specifically, it helps us understand how an environmental ethic can become a lived ethic."
– Alan Holland, Emeritus Professor of Applied Philosophy, Lancaster University, UK
