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13Book Review:Common-Sense Morality and Consequentialism. Michael Slote (review)Ethics 98 (1): 168-. 1987.
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9David Lewis on ConventionCanadian Journal of Philosophy 5 (1). 1975.In this paper I show that the definition of convention offered by david lewis in his book "convention: a philosophical study" fails to shed much light on "our common, Established concept of convention." first I set out lewis' definition of convention. I then show, Via counterexample, That satisfaction of lewis' definition is not a necessary condition for something to be a convention. I also show via counterexample that it is doubtful that satisfaction of lewis' definition is a sufficient conditi…Read more
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12Sober and Wilson on psychological altruism (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 65 (3). 2002.In their marvelous book, Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior, Sober and Wilson identify two distinct problems of altruism.’ The problem of Evolutionary Altruism (EA) “is to show how behaviors that benefit others at the expense of self can evolve;” (17) group selection is the key to the solution of this problem. The problem of Psychological Altruism (PA) is to determine whether people “have altruistic desires that are psychologically ultimate.” (201) After carefully c…Read more
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18On Aims and Methods of Cognitive EthologyPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1992 110-124. 1992.In 1963 Niko Tinbergen published a paper, "On Aims and Methods of Ethology," dedicated to his friend Konrad Lorenz. Here Tinbergen defines ethology as "the biological study of behavior," and seeks to demonstrate "the close affinity between Ethology and the rest of Biology." Tinbergen identifies four major areas of ethology: causation, survival value, evolution, and ontogeny. Our goal is to attempt for cognitive ethology what Tinbergen succeeded in doing for ethology: to clarify its aims and meth…Read more
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41When Utilitarians Should Be Virtue TheoristsUtilitas 19 (2): 160. 2007.The contrast typically made between utilitarianism and virtue theory is overdrawn. Utilitarianism is a universal emulator: it implies that we should lie, cheat, steal, even appropriate Aristotle, when that is what brings about the best outcomes. In some cases and in some worlds it is best for us to focus as precisely as possible on individual acts. In other cases and worlds it is best for us to be concerned with character traits. Global environmental change leads to concerns about character beca…Read more
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14The Rights of Animals and the Demands of NatureEnvironmental Values 17 (2). 2008.This paper discusses two central themes of the work of Alan Holland: the relations between the natural and the normative and how our duties regarding animals cohere with our obligations to respect nature. I explicate and defend an anti-speciesist argument that entails strong moral demands on how we should live and what we should eat. I conclude by discussing the implications of anti-speciesism for rewilding and reintroduction programmes
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13Ethics and intentional climate changeClimatic Change 33 (3): 323--336. 1996.In recent years the idea of geoengineering climate has begun to attract increasing attention. Although there was some discussion of manipulating regional climates throughout the l970s and l980s. the discussion was largely dormant. What has reawakened the conversation is the possibility that Earth may be undergoing a greenhouse-induced global wamring, and the paucity of serious measures that have been taken to Prevent it. ln this paper Iassess the ethical acceptability of ICC, based on my impress…Read more
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11V*—Science, Knowledge, and Animal MindsProceedings of the Aristotelian Society 98 (1): 79-102. 1998.Dale Jamieson; V*—Science, Knowledge, and Animal Minds, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 98, Issue 1, 1 June 1998, Pages 79–102, https://doi.org/
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7Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World (review)Ethics and International Affairs 28 (2): 263-265. 2014.
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9Rational egoism and animal rightsEnvironmental Ethics 3 (2): 167-171. 1981.Jan Narveson has suggested that rational egoism might provide a defensible moral perspective that would put animals out of the reach of morality without denying that they are capable of suffering. I argue that rational egoism provides a principled indifference to the fate of animals at high cost: the possibility of principled indifference to the fate of “marginal humans.”
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1Animals’ Rights Considered in Relation to Social Progress (review)Philosophical Topics 12 (3): 271-274. 1981.
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Le sfide morali e politiche del cambiamento climatico [The Moral and Political Challenges of Climate Change]la Società Degli Individui 39. 2010.Il cambiamento climatico globale pone sfide senza precedenti ai nostri mo- di di concepire la morale e la politica. Siamo abituati a vedere un problema morale in situazioni in cui un individuo chiaramente identificabile inten- zionalmente ne danneggi un altro, a sua volta chiaramente identificabile; e in cui sia gli individui coinvolti, che il danno in questione, stiano fra loro in una relazione spazio-temporale di vicinanza. Il cambiamento climatico glo- bale danneggerà senz'altro milioni di pe…Read more
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17What do animals think?In Robert W. Lurz (ed.), The Philosophy of Animal Minds, Cambridge University Press. pp. 15--34. 2009.
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20Ecosystem Health: Some Preventive MedicineEnvironmental Values 4 (4). 1995.Some ecologists, philosophers, and policy analysts believe that ecosystem health can be defined in a rigorous way and employed as a management goal in environmental policy. The idea of ecosystem health may have something to recommend it as part of a rhetorical strategy, but I am dubious about its utility as a technical term in environmental policy. I develop several objections to this latest version of scientism in environmental policy, and conclude that our environmental problems fundamentally …Read more
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29Is There Progress in Morality?Utilitas 14 (3): 318. 2002.My question, which is central to the business of moral philosophy, is implicitly addressed by many philosophers, yet explicitly addressed by only a few. In this paper I address the question head-on, and propose a qualified affirmative answer
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2Duties to the distant: Humanitarian aid, development assistance, and humanitarian interventionThe Journal of Ethics 9 (1-2). 2005.
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11Sober and Wilson on Psychological AltruismPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 65 (3): 702-710. 2002.The problem of Evolutionary Altruism (EA) "is to show how\nbehaviors that benefit others at the expense of self can\nevolve;" group selection is the key to the solution of this\nproblem. The problem of Psychological Altruism (PA) is to\ndetermine whether people "have altruistic desires that are\npsychologically ultimate." After carefully considering the\narguments of both psychologists and philosophers, Sober and\nWilson render the verdict "not proven." But just in the\nnick of time, evolutionar…Read more
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111Consequentialism, Climate Change, and the Road AheadChicago Journal of International Law 13 (2): 439-468. 2013.In this paper I tell the story of the evolution of the climate change regime, locating its origins in "the dream of Rio," which supposed that the nations of the world would join in addressing the interlocking crises of environment and development. I describe the failure at Copenhagen and then go on to discuss the "reboot" of the climate negotiations advocated by Eric A. Posner and David Weisbach. I bring out some ambiguities in their notion of International Paretianism, which is supposed to effe…Read more
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2On the ethics of the use of animals in scienceIn Tom Regan & Donald VanDeVeer (eds.), And justice for all: new introductory essays in ethics and public policy, Rowman & Littlefield. 1982.
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New York UniversityDepartment of Philosophy
Animal Studies Initiative, Environmental Studies ProgramOther faculty (Postdoc, Visiting, etc)