Defending Biodiversity
Environmental Science and Ethics

This interdisciplinary and accessible book will help environmentalists to make stronger arguments in favor of conserving biodiversity.

Jonathan A. Newman (Author), Gary Varner (Author), Stefan Linquist (Author)

9780521146203, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 5 October 2017

454 pages, 27 b/w illus. 14 tables
22.8 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.75 kg

'Defending Biodiversity is an essential read for anyone who works in conservation and, in particular, anyone who is teaching a conservation-related course. You may find that, like me, you have your fundamental beliefs completely shaken.' Rebecca Nesbit, The Biologist

Imagine that you are an environmentalist who passionately believes that it is wrong to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. How do you convince someone that a decision to drill is wrong? Debates about the environment and how humans ought to treat it have gone on for decades, yet arguments in favor of preserving biodiversity often lack empirical substance or are philosophically naïve, making them far less effective than they could be. This book critically examines arguments that are commonly offered in support of biodiversity conservation. The authors adopt a skeptical viewpoint to thoroughly test the strength of each argument and, by demonstrating how scientific evidence can be integrated with philosophical reasoning, they help environmentalists to better engage with public debate and judiciously inform public policy. This interdisciplinary and accessible book is essential reading for anyone who engages in discussions about the value of biodiversity conservation.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I. Instrumental Value Defenses: 1. Biodiversity and the environmentalist agenda
2. Ecosystem functioning and stability
3. The precautionary principle
4. Agricultural and pharmaceutical benefits
5. Nature-based tourism and 'transformative value'
6. How far do instrumental-value defenses get us?
Part II. Intrinsic Value Defenses: 7. Methodology in philosophical ethics
8. Extensionism in environmental ethics
9. Ecoholism: do ecological wholes have intrinsic value?
10. Ecoholism 2: Callicott on the Leopold land ethic
11. Should biodiversity be conserved for its aesthetic value?
12. How far do intrinsic value defenses go?
13. Conclusions and personal reflections
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], Conservation of the environment [RNK], Biodiversity [RNCB], Plant ecology [PSTS], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF], Bio-ethics [PSAD], Philosophy of science [PDA]