Book Proposed for the series Understanding Movements in Modern Thought

Understanding Environmental Philosophy

Andrew Brennan and Y. S. Lo (La Trobe University, Australia)

1 Rationale

This book sets out in plain language the key ideas of environmental philosophy, tracing their
connections with other areas of philosophy and some of their applications to environmental
policy. Key ideas are also set in a wider cultural and historical context. Unlike many other
works in the field, the book does not advocate a particular understanding of – or response to
– ecological catastrophe, but engages in critical analysis of the full range of contemporary
philosophical approaches. Because it is written by two authors with wide expertise not only
in environmental ethics but also in other areas of philosophy, the book bridges in a unique
and novel way, the gap between applied philosophy and central issues in contemporary
ethical theory. None of the current texts on the market carries out this important bridging
task.

2 Summary

Key selling points of this book –

• more comprehensive than any other short introduction to environmental philosophy

currently on the market
• written by two authors with international reputations for significant contributions in
the field
• introduces cutting edge discussion and analysis and so is not simply a review of
work in the field

3 Contents

The book consists of an introduction and nine chapters written in an accessible style,
covering both the major problems in the field and the theories of the leading figures. While
more comprehensive than other introductions to the field it also contains insights into the
latest lines of research in the subject. As a result, students will find the text not just
invaluable for introductory courses in environmental philosophy and ethics, but also a
concise guide to some of the topics at the centre of current research including new
phenomenological and animistic thinking about the metaphysics of nature.. Unusually for
the field, the book is written in a way that also introduces students carefully and precisely to
key ideas in philosophy and ethical theory. The combination of these features makes this a
unique work with potentially wide market appeal.
4 Contents summary

Introduction

Here we explain the scope of the book and briefly outline the major guiding
themes – (i) concepts in environmental philosophy, (ii) key thinkers in
environmental philosophy. We also show how arguments in environmental
philosophy often model larger disputes in the philosophy. We specify some of the
historical context for the rise of environmental philosophy and in doing so
introduce some basic concepts: different kinds of value; duties, rights,
obligations; consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics.

1 Future generations

The key question for this chapter is: do we have duties to future generations? We
consider three popular answers –
(a) utilitarian (we explore a ‘yes’ answer, and objections to it)
(b) disappearing beneficiaries (ditto for ‘no’)
(c) younger generation argument (ditto for ‘yes’)
We show how and whey each answer faces challenge, and weigh up these
challenges. Key theorists to be examined include: Bryan Norton, Janna
Thompson, Avner de Shalit. The topic of future generations is usually discussed in
terms of future humans. But why are animals and other natural things left aside?
The ‘last person’ scenario (Val Plumwood and Richard Sylvan) provides one kind
of argument for bringing non-humans into the circle of moral concern. In the next
chapter, we tackle the easiest case for an extension of our sympathies and moral
categories – the higher mammals, and other animals.

2 Animals

We now review some popular arguments for extending the circle of moral
consideration to include at least some animals and explore the distinction between
moral standing and legal standing. Next we study the vital question of
anthropocentrism – are humans the most intrinsically valuable things on earth?
We survey Peter Singer’s anti-anthropocentric stance and provide a critical review
of the utilitarian argument against strong anthropocentrism. Another form of
anthropocentrism is considered – ‘speciesist’ anthropocentrism, and we indicate
some problems with the idea of ‘speciesism’. As one alternative to Singer’s
consequentialism, we look at the rights perspective of Tom Regan, noting the
similarities and differences in how deontologists and consequentialists argue for
their views. Can both parties give rights to animals? We consider whether the
two positions are substantially different. In the discussion we cover important
practical issues including animal experimentation and animal rights terrorism. In
the light of our findings in regard to animals, the way is opened for a more
general exploration of extending moral care and concern to all living things.

3 Living things

Introducing the biocentric perspective, we look at strategies for conferring moral

consideration on natural things in general, not just animals. There are different
kinds of biocentrism – egalitarian and non-egalitarian. Paul Taylor’s influential
form of Kantian biocentrism – a complex of moral outlook, value attitudes and
ethical system – provides a model of how a complete moral perspective might
work, and instructive lessons can be drawn from its failings. These include the
problem of priorities – how to structure systems of moral rules and decide on
principles to decide among them. We conclude by looking at how to deal in a fair
and just manner with conflicts between humans and non-humans and at Gary
Varner’s version of moral functionalism. While Taylor’s ethic is largely focused
on individual moral responsibility, there is also a need to consider our roles as
members of larger communities, a task for the following chapter.

4 Community

We turn next to the key issues about holism and communitarianism in

environmental thought. For some theorists – notably J. B. Callicott – moral
individualism misses the point, and should be replaced by a kind of land-ethical
communitarianism, inspired by the thought of Aldo Leopold. We indicate that
there are metaphysical issues about individualism, subjectivity and objectivity
which also need to be considered. Although mentioned here, these metaphysical
matters are dealt with more fully in chapter 8. Focusing on Callicott’s moral
system, we show why his holism is distinct from his communitarianism, and how
he attacks agent-neutrality and consequentialism. We also assess Callicott’s
hostility to moral pluralism – an issue that leads us to consider the more general
case of pluralism in moral theory. By now a further problem is starting to emerge:
theorists have discussed different kinds of individuals, and different kinds of
communities, all as candidates for having value and deserving respect. So what
are natural things, and which of the various kinds of individual and community
are worthy of respect?

5 Natural things

Many theorists have tried to extend the Kantian notions of freedom and self-
determination to different ranges of natural things. By diagramming the
conceptual space, we show vividly that various of these ‘expanded circles’ fail to
cohere. In place of one set of expanding circles, there are several possible, and
different, ways of extending value to natural things. What, then, does ‘natural’
mean in this context? We review Hume’s, Kant’s and Mill’s understanding of
naturalness, and raise the intriguing questions (i) of whether natural things can
have dignity (ii) whether humans themselves are ‘natural’? We consider the
arguments of Andrew Brennan, Eric Katz and Robert Elliot on intrinsic function
and their implications for copying and restoration projects, for individuals,
species, landscapes and ecosystems. Does restored nature have as much value as
pristine nature? To answer this question, we consider the work of Y.S. Lo and the
case of the Yellowstone wolf project. All these discussions, however, pose a prior
question – about the source of moral value itself – which is worth separate study.

6 Foundations

What have philosophers regarded as the sources of intrinsic value? We suggest

that answering this question uncovers some surprising and hidden foundations of
contemporary thought. We trace the idea that value is an elite quality – as
understood in older meritocratic ways of thinking – and ask whether there is a
specifically religious element (involving God’s grace) in the notion of absolute,
unconditional value. We also inquire whether Kantian foundations for value
provide a secular alternative to the religious ones. If so, then can Kant’s ideas be
extended in a reasonable way to animals, living things, species and ecosystems?
To complete the review of these foundational ideas, we look at subjectivism and
objectivism about value in the work of Callicott, Holmes Rolston and Eugene
Hargrove (the aesthetics of nature) and consider the extent to which there can be a
synthesis between the subjective and objective accounts of value that are common
in the literature. These arguments about the source of value have been considered
central to environmental philosophy because they may motivate resistance to
environmental decline. Their success in doing so, however, may depend on
something else entirely, namely the origins of our environmental problems in the
first place.

7 Origins

By considering a number of major theories on the origin of environmental crisis,

we are able to make sense of the very different kinds of ‘solutions’ proposed by
numerous theorists. The well-known Lynn White theory identifies monotheism
(especially Christianity) as the source of our troubles, and hints at a corresponding
solution. By contrast, the theory of disenchantment of nature and its human
counterpart (see Theodor Adorno, Kate Soper) mandates a quite different solution,
and yet another solution follows from the diagnosis by ecological feminists (such
as Karen Warren, Val Plumwood) that patriarchy and other forms of hierarchy are
the source of environmental problems. Further diagnoses occur in the work of
deep ecologists, and we briefly discuss the politics of the deep ecology platform
and the appeals of eco-anarchism and bioregionalism (Murray Bookchin,
Krikpatrick Sale). In assessing whether any of these diagnoses of our
environmental problems can be the source of new inspirations, we encounter a
range of metaphysical issues that require separate analysis and discussion.

8 Metaphysics

Graham Harvey’s ‘new animist’ work advocating respect for the natural world, as
well as the panpsychism of Freya Mathews, suggests that we may need to
configure a new understanding of ourselves in the world. We compare these
views with the conception of the ecological self offered by Arne Næss and
Warwick Fox (and which has been attacked in feminist critiques) and with the
phenomenological approach advocated by David Abram and Isis Brook (one that
draws inspiration from the works of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty). We review
the prospects for a metaphysics of re-enchantment of nature, and consider also the
neglected distinction between nature as sacrum and nature as sanctum. While
phenomenological approaches have influenced some parts of architectural theory,
there has been little evidence of other impact of new ecological and metaphysical
thinking on the practice and policies of government and business. The last
chapter looks beyond philosophy to find out why this is so.

9 Beyond philosophy

A number of new interdisciplinary research areas connect up environmental

philosophy to other disciplines and offer the promise of discovering how best to
bridge philosophical theory on the one hand and actual governance and practice
on the other. We review some of these areas in this final chapter, for example: (a)
the silo mentality in government agencies (Bryan Norton) and its socio-cultural
explanation; (b) the concept of ecosystem health and its relevance to policy
studies; (c) how the new metaphysics and aesthetics of place can influence
architecture and the creative arts (Jeff Malpas, Alain De Botton). (d) how
environmental sociology, social psychology and cultural history can complement
philosophical and conceptual studies to shed new light on different worldviews,
and competing conceptions of nature; (e) how political ecology and
environmental politics can draw inspiration from different philosophical and
cultural traditions (Bruno Latour). Finally, we look at the sociology and
psychology of affluenza and global overconsumption and consider what
 environmental philosophy itself needs to do in order to be an inspiration for
change in a cosmopolitan yet fragmented world.

5 Writing schedule and word length

The chapters will be an average 7000 words long, and together with the introduction and
extra material (chapter summaries, key questions and guides to further reading) will amount
to less than the maximum target length of 70000 words. The final draft will be concluded
by January 2008, with delivery of the final version by March 2008.

6 Artwork and design

Four diagrams will be required, which can be reproduced from colour graphics presently
available in Word and pdf forms. For maximum impact, these should be reproduced in
colour. If only halftone is available, then it may be necessary to simplify the existing
diagrams and add a couple of new ones in order to convey the same amount of information.

7 Readership

Because of its broad scope, and inclusion of cutting-edge material, the readership of this
work will include

• final-year high school students

• first-year college and university students
• environmental professionals in conservation agencies, government departments and
industry
• readers of popular science and policy books
• some advanced students and researchers in environmental philosophy

8 Related/Competing Titles

Teachers of environmental philosophy courses usually work from a collection of standard

articles in the subject, many of them containing the same essays. The leading collections of
such work will be referenced in the Guide to further reading. These include: Andrew Light
and Holmes Rolston, Environmental Ethics (Blackwell), David Schmidtz and Elizabeth
Willott Environmental Ethics (Oxford University Press), Louis Pojman Environmental
Ethics (Wadsworth) and a number of older collections. There are a number of specialized
collections too, such as Charles Brown and Ted Toadvine, Eco-Phenomenology: Back to the
Earth Itself (SUNY Press), but these are not widely used as teaching resources. There is
only one widely popular textbook, namely Joseph Des Jardins’ Environmental Ethics
(Wadswsorth), now in its fourth edition. Although Des Jardins’ book is long and detailed, it
is considerably less comprehensive than the one proposed here (for example, it has no
discussion of Rolston, a major figure in the field, nor does it discuss Bookchin, eco-
anarchism, or other topics we include). Des Jardins is not an active researcher in the area,
and his book neither introduces students to the activity of philosophizing as such nor does it
engage with the range of cutting edge topics we cover in several places, and particularly in
chapters 7, 8 and 9 of our work. Louis Pojman’s Global Environmental Ethics (Mayfield
2000) covers some of the same material as the presently proposed volume, but is generally
rated by students as hard to read and is considerably longer than the target length for the
UMMT series. Christopher Belshaw’s Environmental Philosophy (Acumen) has been well
reviewed, and cover many of the same topics in our volume, but is too long to be considered
a direct competitor in this market.

In brief, there are really no direct competitors in this market. A range of shorter books on
environmental philosophy have been published in the last ten years, but these either
advocate a particular line (see, for example, Robert Kirkmann’s Skeptical
Environmentalism), hence lack comprehensiveness, or are weak in philosophical argument
(or both). A typical recent example is Patrick Curry, Introduction to Environmental Ethics
(Polity Press), which has a narrow scope, advocates major social change, and gives readers
suggestions on practical ways to save the planet while offering very little detailed
philosophical analysis or critique. There is a real gap in the market for a text of the sort we
propose.

9 Biography

Andrew Brennan is professor and chair of philosophy at La Trobe University, Melbourne,

having previously held the chair of philosophy at the University of Western Australia. He is
the author of the seminal Thinking About Nature (Routledge 1988) and of numerous articles
on environmental ethics, philosophy of place, comparative philosophy and environmental
policy. He edited the Dartmouth Environmental Ethics collection (1995) and co-edited
Philosophical Dialogues, a collection of papers on Arne Næss and the philosophy of deep
ecology published by Rowman and Littlefield in 1999. He has contributed work on
environmental ethics and philosophy to the Blackwell Companion to Environmental
Philosophy (2001), the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1999) and will be writing
the environmental ethics chapter for the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Ethics. His
most recent book, Logic, was a co-authored work published in 2005 in the Continuum Key
Concepts series.

Y. S. Lo lectures in philosophy at La Trobe University Melbourne, having previously

worked at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is a
specialist in ethics and metaethics, and has published several articles on environmental
philosophy, including ones dealing with problems of ecological restoration. She is also co-
author with Brennan of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on environmental
ethics, and one of their co-authored papers, ‘Two Conceptions of Human Dignity’ will be
appearing next year in a collection, The Concept of Human Dignity, to be published by
Springer.

10 International Reviewers

Reviewers in the United States:

Professor Eugene Hargrove, Chair of Philosophy, University of North Texas, P.O. Box
310980, Denton, TX 76203-0980. (Hargrove is a leading figure in the field, and was (and
still is) the foundation editor of the now leading journal in the subject, Environmental
Ethics.)
Professor Eric Katz, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, New Jersey Institute of
Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102-1982. (Katz is also a leading figure in
the field, and serves as reviews editor for Environmental Ethics.)

Reviewers in the United Kingdom:

Professor John O’Neill, Department of Philosophy, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1
4YG. (O’Neill is a major British figure in environmental philosophy and policy.)
Professor Alan Holland, Department of Philosophy, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1
4YG. (Although now retired, Holland was the founder-editor of the UK’s leading journal of
environmental ethics, economics and policy, Environmental Values.)