Beyond the Land Ethic: More Essays in Environmental Philosophy

by J. Baird Callicott

Overview

CHOICE 1999 Outstanding Academic Title

A sequel to Callicott's pioneering work, In Defense of the Land Ethic, Beyond the Land Ethic engages a wide spectrum of topics central to the field, including the troubled relationship of environmental philosophy to current mainstream academic philosophy; the relationship of recent developments in evolutionary and ecological sciences to the Leopold land ethic long championed by the author; the perennial debates in environmental ethics about the ontological status of intrinsic value and the necessity of moral pluralism; the metaphysical implications of ecology and the New Physics as manifest in agriculture, medicine, and industrial technology; and the philosophical dimensions of conservation biology and "clinical ecology."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791440841
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	04/23/1999
Series:	SUNY series in Philosophy and Biology
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	437
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

J. Baird Callicott is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies at the University of North Texas and is the current President of the International Society for Environmental Ethics. He is the author of many books, including In Defense of the Land Ethic, also published by SUNY Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

1 Introduction: Compass Points in Environmental Philosophy

I Practicing Environmental Ethics

2 Environmental Philosophy Is Environmental Activism: The Most Radical and Effective Kind

3 How Environmental Ethical Theory May Be Put into Practice

4 Holistic Environment Ethics and the Problem of Ecofascism

II The Conceptual Foundations of the Land Ethic Revisited

5 Just the Facts, Ma'am

6 Can a Theory of Moral Sentiments Support a Genuinely Normative Environmental Ethic?

7 Do Deconstructive Ecology and Sociobiology Undermine the Leopold Land Ethic?

III Moral Monism Versus Moral Pluralism

8 The Case against Moral Pluralism

9 Moral Monism in Environmental Ethics Defended

IV Nature's Intrinsic Value

10 Genesis and John Muir

11 Rolston on Intrinsic Value: A Deconstruction

12 Intrinsic Value in Nature: A Metaethical Analysis

V Ecological Metaphysics of Agriculture, Medicine, and Technology

13 The Metaphysical Transition in Farming: From the Newtonian-Mechanical to the Eltonian-Ecological

14 Environmental Wellness

15 After the Industrial Paradigm, What?

VI Toward a New Philosophy of Conservation

16 Whither Conservation Ethics?

17 Aldo Leopold's Concept of Ecosystem Health

18 The Value of Ecosystem Health

19 Ecological Sustainability as a Conservation Concept

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"…this book is essential reading for any environmental philosopher, and will also be stimulating for thinkers in environmental management and green political theory. Callicott's writing is eloquent and thought-provoking, his ideas … broad in scope, highly engaging and impossible to ignore. Above all, one enjoys the spectacle of an original mind in constant development and questioning activity, grappling lucidly and philosophically with pressing practical issues." — Environmental Values

"…worth reading for the intellectual challenge alone." — Environmental Practice

"Writing in the same engaging style of earlier works, Callicott, the world's authority on Aldo Leopold, extends his environmental ethics and addresses his critics … Every philosopher, conservationist, and environmentalist should read this classic work." — Ethics

"Callicott is among the top two or three environmental philosophers in the entire world. This collection of essays reminds me of WHY this is the case. His style is very engaging and interesting. He is by no means a dry author, but instead uses a number of rhetorical strategies to keep his readers awake and involved. I was really taken with his excellent essay on John Muir, for example. What a delight to follow the ins and outs of this intriguing—and convincing—argument." — Michael E. Zimmerman, Tulane University

"Callicott's style is vivid, frank, often fun to read, and always clear. Each essay offers provocative ideas. The Introduction presents a straightforward and exciting assessment of the long-term intellectual and cultural significance of the field. Beyond the Land Ethic will be indispensable to those interested in environmental philosophy." — Susan J. Armstrong, Humboldt State University

"A pleasure to read, this book is significant because it discusses issues that are central to environmental philosophy. Readers will be served well to have Callicott's current thinking available to them in a single book. I expect it to be the standard work used to refer to Callicott's more recent thought." — Peter Wenz, author of Environmental Justice

From the Publisher

Callicott's sequel to addresses a range of important topics, including the troubled relationship of environmental philosophy to academic philosophy; the relationship of recent developments in evolutionary and ecological sciences to the Leopold land ethic; debates about the ontological status of intrinsic value and the necessity of moral pluralism; the metaphysical implications of ecology and the New Physics as manifest in agriculture, medicine, and industrial technology; and the philosophical dimensions of conservation biology and clinical ecology. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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