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25The 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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83Envisioning 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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31Svein Anders Noer Lie, Philosophy of Nature: Rethinking NaturalnessEnvironmental Values 26 (1): 111-113. 2017.
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32Naturalness: Is the “Natural” Preferable to the “Artificial”?Environmental Ethics 38 (2): 241-244. 2016.
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45The Challenger Tragedy: A Case Study in Organizational Communication and Professional EthicsBusiness and Professional Ethics Journal 12 (2): 91-108. 1993.
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52Utilitarianism and PreservationEnvironmental Ethics 1 (4): 357-364. 1979.In “The Concept of the Irreplaceable,” John N. Martin claims that utilitarian arguments can explain the environmentalist position concerning the preservation of natural objects as long as human attitudes toward preservation are considered along with the direct benefits of environmental preservation. But this type of utilitarian justification is biased in favor of the satisfaction of human preferences. No ethical theory which calculates goodness in terms of the amount of human satisfaction can pr…Read more
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196The call of the wild: The struggle against domination and the technological fix of natureEnvironmental Ethics 14 (3): 265-273. 1992.In this essay, I use encounters with the white-tailed deer of Fire Island to explore the “call of the wild”—the attraction to value that exists in a natural world outside of human control. Value exists in nature to the extent that it avoids modification by human technology. Technology “fixes” the natural world by improving it for human use or by restoring degraded ecosystems. Technology creates a “new world,” an artifactual reality that is far removed from the “wildness” of nature. The technolog…Read more
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15Organism, 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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32Anthropocentric Indirect Arguments: Return of the Plastic-tree ZombiesEthics, Policy and Environment 17 (3): 264-266. 2014.Forget Aldo Leopold. Or Holmes Rolston, III, or Baird Callicott. Forget Arne Naess. I vote for Martin H. Krieger as the most influential environmental philosopher of all time. It has been over 40 y...
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83Nature as Subject: Human Obligation and Natural CommunityRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 1996.Written by one of the instrumental figures in environmental ethics, Nature as Subject traces the development of an ethical policy that is centered not on human beings, but on itself. Katz applies this idea to contemporary environmental problems, introducing themes of justice, domination, imperialism, and the Holocaust. This volume will stand as a foundational work for environmental scholars, government and industry policy makers, activists, and students in advanced philosophy and environmental s…Read more
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50The Nazi Comparison in the Debate over Restoration: Nativism and DominationEnvironmental Values 23 (4): 377-398. 2014.In this essay, I discuss the comparison between the restoration of natural environments and the Nazi project to develop a pure homeland for native species and authentic Aryan humans. There exists a metaphorical comparison between Nazi eliminationist policies regarding specific human populations and the eradication of invasive and non-native species in ecological restorations. Moreover, there are substantive environmental policies of the Nazi regime that appear to be similar to the goals and meth…Read more
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83Environmental Pragmatism (edited book)Routledge. 1996.Environmental pragmatism is a new strategy in environmental thought. It argues that theoretical debates are hindering the ability of the environmental movement to forge agreement on basic policy imperatives. This new direction in environmental thought moves beyond theory, advocating a serious inquiry into the merits of moral pluralism. Environmental pragmatism, as a coherent philosophical position, connects the methodology of classical American pragmatic thought to the explanation, solution and …Read more
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20Searching for Intrinsic ValueEnvironmental Ethics 9 (3): 231-241. 1987.Anthony Weston has criticized the place of “inttinsic value” in the development of an environmental ethic, and he has urged a “pragmatic shift” toward a plurality of values based on human desires and experiences. I argue that Weston is mistaken for two reasons: (1) his view of the methodology of environmental ethics is distorted: the intrinsic value of natural entities is not the ground of all moral obligations regarding the environment; and (2) his pragmatic theory of value is too anthropocentr…Read more
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38Buffalo-Killing and the Valuation of SpeciesBowling Green Studies in Applied Philosophy 8 114-123. 1986.
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35Nature, Value, Duty: Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, IIIEnvironmental Ethics 30 (1): 89-92. 2008.
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34Artefacts and Functions: A Note on the Value of NatureEnvironmental Values 2 (3): 223-232. 1993.This paper examines and compares the ontological and axiological character of artefacts – human creations – with nonhuman natural entities. The essential difference between artefacts and natural entities is that the former are always the result of human intention and design, while the latter are independent of human purpose. Artefacts have functions ; natural entities do not. The connection to human intentional purpose implies a different kind of value for artefacts. Artefacts are evaluated sole…Read more
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25Moving beyond Anthropocentrism: Environmental Ethics, Development, and the AmazonEnvironmental Ethics 15 (1): 49-59. 1993.We argue for the rejection of an anthropocentric and instrumental system of normative ethics. Moral arguments for the preservation of the environment cannot be based on the promotion of human interests or goods. The failure of anthropocentric arguments is exemplified by the dilemma of Third World development policy, e.g., the controversy over the preservation of the Amazon rain forest. Considerationsof both utility and justice preclude a solution to the problems of Third World development from t…Read more
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16Holmes Rolston, III, Three Big Bangs: Matter-Energy, Life, Mind (review)Environmental Ethics 34 (3): 313-316. 2012.
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13Utilitarianism and PreservationEnvironmental Ethics 1 (4): 357-364. 1979.In “The Concept of the Irreplaceable,” John N. Martin claims that utilitarian arguments can explain the environmentalist position concerning the preservation of natural objects as long as human attitudes toward preservation are considered along with the direct benefits of environmental preservation. But this type of utilitarian justification is biased in favor of the satisfaction of human preferences. No ethical theory which calculates goodness in terms of the amount of human satisfaction can pr…Read more
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59The Call of the Wild: The Struggle against Domination and the Technological Fix of NatureEnvironmental Ethics 14 (3): 265-273. 1992.In this essay, I use encounters with the white-tailed deer of Fire Island to explore the “call of the wild”—the attraction to value that exists in a natural world outside of human control. Value exists in nature to the extent that it avoids modification by human technology. Technology “fixes” the natural world by improving it for human use or by restoring degraded ecosystems. Technology creates a “new world,” an artifactual reality that is far removed from the “wildness” of nature. The technolog…Read more
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14Dale Jamieson: Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle against Climate Change Failed—And What It Means for Our FutureEnvironmental Ethics 37 (2): 255-256. 2015.
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38Preserving the distinction between nature and artifactIn Gregory E. Kaebnick (ed.), The ideal of nature: debates about biotechnology and the environment, Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 71. 2011.
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125A pragmatic reconsideration of anthropocentrismEnvironmental Ethics 21 (4): 377-390. 1999.For much of its brief history, the field of environmental ethics has been critical of anthropocentrism. I here undertake a pragmatic reconsideration of anthropocentrism. In the first part of this essay, I explain what a pragmatic reconsideration of anthropocentrism means. I differentiate two distinct pragmatic strategies, one substantive and one methodological, and I adopt methodological pragmatism as my guiding principle. In the second part of this essay, I examine a case study of environmental…Read more
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35Nature by design: People, natural process, and ecological restorationEnvironmental Ethics 29 (2): 213-216. 2007.
Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |