Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics - 25th Anniversary Edition

By Paul W. Taylor

Book Overview

What rational justification is there for conceiving of all living things as possessing inherent worth? In Respect for Nature, Paul Taylor draws on biology, moral philosophy, and environmental science to defend a biocentric environmental ethic in which all life has value. Without making claims for the moral rights of plants and animals, he offers a reasoned alternative to the prevailing anthropocentric view--that the natural environment and its wildlife are valued only as objects for human use or enjoyment. Respect for Nature provides both a full account of the biological conditions for life--human or otherwise--and a comprehensive view of the complex relationship between human beings and the whole of nature.

This classic book remains a valuable resource for philosophers, biologists, and environmentalists alike--along with all those who care about the future of life on Earth. A new foreword by Dale Jamieson looks at how the original 1986 edition of Respect for Nature has shaped the study of environmental ethics, and shows why the work remains relevant to debates today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691150249
• ISBN13: 9780691150246
• Release Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The book I had been looking for

This is an excellent book. It is comprehensive, with regard not only to our proper treatment of other animals but to all life, ranging from human life to plant life. In other words, it offers a complete ethics. And contrary to the preceding review, Taylor's view is not at all "anthropocentric." Quite the contrary: it is life itself that takes center stage, with humans finding their place in the total biosphere. The book is also thorough and utterly rigorous in its argumentation. To me this is a virtue since, like Taylor, I am an analytic philosopher. To the average reader this could be a drawback; I cannot in good faith therefore recommend this book to someone who is not acquainted with or does not enjoy the rigors of academic philosophic thinking. But for someone who does, I can think of no better book on the subject of an ethics that gives due consideration to nonhumans. There were passages in this book which, despite my already favorable view of a biocentric ethics, transformed my very being with new and broader understanding and conviction.

One of the first books proposing a sound and complete theory

A good through book on environmental ethics. Taylor has outlined his anthropocentric view of environmental ethics. He has been complete and thorough in discussing quite a few key issues and in answering possible problems with his theory. A good all-encompassing theory that is much needed in environmental philosophy.