Modern Environmental Ethics

Author: Peter S. Wenz
Publisher: People's Publishing House of Shanghai
Book Description:
This book is an important work by Peter S. Wenz, a renowned contemporary American scholar, published in 2001 by Oxford University Press. The book consists of four parts: anthropocentrism, nonanthropocentrism, environmental协同论 (theory of synergy), and applications. As a work covering major thinkers in the field of 20th-century environmental ethics and various topics, the book has very distinct features—it combines topics related to economics, business, government, and agriculture to discuss contemporary moral issues in a clear and accessible manner. In the author's view, the book's progressive purpose is to prevent students and general readers from viewing it as outdated theory that is forgotten after reading, and to enable them to learn to respond to issues more maturely and think independently. The author believes that university teachers in many fields can also refer to this book for teaching, such as business, government, environmental studies, architecture, urban planning, women's studies, agriculture, religious studies, geography, biology, and more.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Translator's Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What is Environmental Ethics?
Attacks on Environmental Ethics
Unsettling Trends in Human Health
Future Generations
World Trade
Population Growth and the Obligation to the World's Poor
Obligation to Nonhuman Beings
Preview of Chapters
Part One: Anthropocentrism
Preface
Translator's Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What is Environmental Ethics?
Attacks on Environmental Ethics
Unsettling Trends in Human Health
Future Generations
World Trade
Population Growth and the Obligation to the World's Poor
Obligation to Nonhuman Beings
Preview of Chapters
Part One: Anthropocentrism
Chapter 1: Population Overshoot, Markets, and Human Rights
Population Overshoot and Scarcity
What is a Free Market?
Prosperity Economics
The Tragedy of the Commons
Public Goods, Externalities, and Government Compulsion
Trading Pollution Permits
Market Approaches to Solving Population Overshoot
The Lifeboat Ethics
Psychological Egoism and the Possibility of Sharing
Human Rights
Discussion
Chapter 2: Energy, Economics, and Future Generations
Global Warming and Future Generations
Human Rights and Future Issues
Fair Contracts and Future Generations
Environmental Transactions and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Increasing Scarcity
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Political Equality
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Future Generations
Discussion
Chapter 3: Competing Anthropocentric Values
Environmental Harm in Developing Countries
How Much is a Life Worth?
Should Prostitution Be Legalized?
Non-Economic vs. Economic Anthropocentrism
Aesthetic Value
National Heritage
The Transformation of Values and Future Generations
Moral Pluralism
Moral Relativism
Discussion
Part Two: Nonanthropocentrism
Chapter 4: Animal Liberation and Utilitarianism
Animal Cruelty
Utilitarianism
Species Discrimination
Livestock Industry
Veganism
Bullfighting and Horse Racing
Alternative Arguments
Resisting Hedonism
Preference Utilitarianism
Discussion
Chapter 5: Animal Rights and Medical Research
Introduction
The Nature of Rights
Immortal Souls and Rights
Language, Abstract Thought, and Rights
Moral Personhood and Rights
Contracts and Rights
Animal Rights
Benefits in Animal Experiments
Animal Rights vs. Animal Research
Limited Animal Rights in Reflective Equilibrium
Animal Research in Reflective Equilibrium
Discussion
Chapter 6: Biodiversity and Gaia
Massive Species Extinction
Causes of Extinction
Why Should We Protect Endangered Species?
Animal Rights vs. Species Preservation
Species as Biological Individuals
The Gaia Hypothesis
From Science to Metaphor
Metaphors and Moral Implications
Mechanical vs. Organismic Metaphors of Nature
Discussion
Chapter 7: Land Ethic
Hunting Animals to Preserve Ecosystems
The Nature of Ecosystems
Does Hunting Help or Harm Ecosystems?
Why We Value Ecosystems
Conflicting Moral Commitments
Tigers and Elephants in Developing Countries
Discussion
Part Three: Environmental协同论
Chapter 8: Human Rights, Agriculture, and Biodiversity
Poverty, Efficiency, and Human Rights
Environmental协同论
Benefits of High-Tech Agriculture
Specialization Focused on Money
Polluting Our Own Homes
Sustainability Issues
The Green Revolution
Biodiversity and Human Welfare
Anthropocentrism vs. Synergy
Discussion
Chapter 9: Ecofeminism and Environmental Justice
From Feminism to Ecofeminism
Women as Subordinate
Indigenous Peoples as Subordinate
Nature as Subordinate
Women and Nature
Minority Subordination and Pollution
Women's Subordination, Environmental Degradation, and Population Overshoot
Indigenous Subordination and Biodiversity Loss
Discussion
Chapter 10: Religion and Nature
Should Humans "Play God"?
Masterful Christian Interpretations
Interpretation and Constitution
Interpretation and the Bible
Narrative, Grand Narrative, and Worldview
Nash's Deep Ecology
Indian Religion
Christian Stewardship Interpretations
Christian Citizenship Interpretations
Discussion
Part Four: Applications
Chapter 11: Individual Choices, Consumerism, and Humanity
Consumerism vs. Synergy
Defending Economic Growth
High Consumption and Human Welfare
The Prolongation of Unsatisfied Desire
Intrinsic Motivations and Their Limits
Certain Intrinsic Motivations
Finding Love
A Life of Abundance
Discussion
Chapter 12: Public Policy, Efficiency, and Globalization
The Necessity of Collective Action
Subsidizing Inefficiency with Money
More Efficient Transportation
Agricultural Policy
Corporate Welfare Policies and Campaign Finance Reform
The Promise of Globalization
Globalization and Human Suffering
The World Trade Organization, Environmental Protection, and Democracy
Discussion
Final Reflection: Has Optimism Been Confirmed?
Conflicting Trends
A Fracturing Society
One World
Valuing Nature and Limiting Human Power
Appendix: Glossary of Terms
Chinese-English Comparative Table
Postscript