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92Geoengineering, Restoration, and the Construction of NatureEnvironmental Ethics 37 (4): 485-498. 2015.An old book by children’s author Dr. Seuss can be an inspiration to examine the ethical and ontological meaning of geoengineering. My argument is based on my critique of the process of ecological restoration as the creation of an artifactual reality. When humanity intentionally interferes with the processes and entities of nature, we change the ontological reality of the natural world. The world becomes a garden, or a zoo, an environment that must be continually managed to meet the goals of huma…Read more
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87Anne Frank's Tree: Thoughts on Domination and the Paradox of ProgressEthics, Place and Environment 13 (3): 283-293. 2010.Consider the significance of Anne Frank's horse chestnut tree. During her years of hiding in the secret annex, Anne thought of the tree as a symbol of freedom, happiness, and peace. As a stand-in for all of Nature, Anne saw the tree as that part of the universe that could not be destroyed by human evil. In this essay, I use Anne's tree as a starting point for a discussion of the domination of both nature and humanity. I connect the concept of domination to the policy of ecological restoration, t…Read more
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54Organism, community, and the "substitution problem"Environmental Ethics 7 (3): 241-256. 1985.Holistic accounts of the natural environment in environmental ethics fail to stress the distinction between the concepts of comnlunity and organism. Aldo Leopold’s “Land Ethic” adds to this confusion, for it can be interpreted as promoting either a community or an organic model of nature. The difference between the two concepts lies in the degree of autonomy possessed by constituent entities within the holistic system. Members within a community are autonomous, while the parts of an organism are…Read more
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23Nature and Nationalism: Right-Wing Ecology and the Politics of Identity in Contemporary Germany, Jonathan Olsen , 208 pp., $45 cloth (review)Ethics and International Affairs 15 (1): 219-222. 2001.
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62Is There a Place for Animals in the Moral Consideration of NatureEnvironmental Ethics. An Anthology. forthcoming.
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9Understanding Moral Limits in the Duality of Artifacts and Nature: A Reply to CriticsEthics and the Environment 7 (1): 138-146. 2002.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Ethics & the Environment 7.1 (2002) 138-146 [Access article in PDF] Understanding Moral Limits in the Duality of Artifacts and NatureA Reply to Critics Eric Katz Ned Hettinger and Wayne Ouderkirk present some cogent criticisms of my ideas in environmental ethics, especially those ideas closely associated with my attacks on the process of ecological restoration. Both trace the source of my alleged problems to a pernicious dualism of n…Read more
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82Envisioning a De-Anthropocentrised World: Critical Comments on Anthony Weston's 'The Incompleat Eco-Philosopher'Ethics, Policy and Environment 14 (1): 97-101. 2011.Weston and I will be forever linked in the field of environmental philosophy because of an exchange of essays that were published in the journal Environmental Ethics in 1985 and 1987 on the subject...
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31The Liberation of Humanity and NatureEnvironmental Values 11 (4): 397-405. 2002.What does the ' liberation ' of nature mean? In this essay, I use a pragmatic methodology to reject the idea that we need a metaphysical understanding of the nature of nature before we can speak of nature's liberation, and explain the sense of liberation as being the continuation of human non-interference in natural processes. Two real life policy cases are cited as examples: beach restoration on Fire Island and rock climbing in designated wilderness areas
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Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |