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7 - The Value of Nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2024

Dale Jamieson
Affiliation:
New York University
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Summary

Many philosophers who endorse an environmental ethic are uneasy with animal protectionist philosophies. They reject sentientism – the view that sentience is necessary and sufficient for moral considerability – in favor of biocentrism, the view that being alive is necessary and sufficient for moral considerability. It is difficult to characterize both sentience and being alive in ways that are both informative and noncontroversial. Some environmental philosophers reject the individualism of both these views, and embrace instead holistic views that place such entities as ecosystems at the center of moral concern. Deep ecologists go even further, making it difficult to know how to live in accordance with their principles. Such views provide insight, but seem to abandon the fundamental questions of ethics.

Type
Chapter
Information
Ethics and the Environment
An Introduction
, pp. 131 - 153
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • The Value of Nature
  • Dale Jamieson, New York University
  • Book: Ethics and the Environment
  • Online publication: 29 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108992053.008
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  • The Value of Nature
  • Dale Jamieson, New York University
  • Book: Ethics and the Environment
  • Online publication: 29 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108992053.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Value of Nature
  • Dale Jamieson, New York University
  • Book: Ethics and the Environment
  • Online publication: 29 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108992053.008
Available formats
×