Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice

Front Cover
Andrew Light, Avner De-Shalit
MIT Press, 2003 - Nature - 357 pages

What role can philosophers play in helping to resolve the moral and political dilemmas faced by environmental activists and policymakers? Moving away from environmental philosophy's usual focus on abstractions such as nonanthropocentrism and the intrinsic value of nature, this book focuses on environmental practice as the starting point for theoretical reflection. Philosophical thinking, it argues, need not be divided into the academic and the practical. Philosophy can take a more publicly engaged approach.

The authors combine a deep understanding of the environmental ethics literature with a sympathetic sociological and political examination of environmental activists and their reasoning. The book is divided into three parts: Political Theory and Environmental Practice, Philosophical Tools for Environmental Practice, and Rethinking Philosophy through Environmental Practice. Case studies are included from Canada, Denmark, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Topics range from the specific, such as fox hunting and leaded gasoline, to the more general, such as biodiversity in India, biomedical ethics, and crop biotechnology.

 

Contents

Environmental EthicsWhose Philosophy? Which
1
Nurturing a Sustainable
31
Intuition Reason and Environmental Argument
45
Reconciling Equity
77
A Case for Political
109
A Practical Option for Realizing
131
Operationalizing
155
Putting
187
Importance of Narrative
219
What Environmental
239
The Case of Foxhunting
281
A View from the South
295
Bibliography
317
About the Contributors
345
Copyright

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Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice
Andrew Light,Avner De-Shalit
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Common terms and phrases

activists agricultural Andrew Light animals anthropocentric approach argues argument basic biocentric biodiversity biological Cambridge case-based claim concept concern conservation constitutional context courts critical crop biotechnology cultural debate decisions deep ecology Democracy discourse discussion distribution ecological economic ecosystems Edited envi environment environmental ethicists Environmental Ethics environmental justice environmental justice movement Environmental Law environmental philosophy environmental practice Environmental Protection Environmental Racism Environmental Rights environmental risks equity example focus foxhunting future genetic engineering Goldsmith green political Holmes Rolston III Honneth Human Rights hunting idea individuals intrinsic value intuitions issues Journal leaded gasoline mental moral Naess National natural resources natural world Oxford University Press participation perspective philosophers plant policymaking political theory possible potential precautionary precautionary principle principle problems Public Trust Doctrine question reason recognition reflective equilibrium Reposaari restoration role Rolston ronmental Routledge social species suggest sustainability Taylor tion transgenic crops

References to this book

About the author (2003)

Andrew Light is Director of the Center for Global Ethics at George Mason University and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Bibliographic information

TitleMoral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice
EditorsAndrew Light, Avner De-Shalit
Editionillustrated
PublisherMIT Press, 2003
ISBN0262621649, 9780262621649
Length357 pages
Subjects › 

Nature / Ecology
Philosophy / Environmental
Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Science / Environmental Science
  
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