The Ideal of Nature: Debates About Biotechnology and the Environment

by Kaebnick, Gregory E.

• ISBN13: 9780801898884
• ISBN10: 0801898889
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-01
• Publisher: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV PRESS

Summary

Going back at least to the writings of John Stuart Mill and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, people have argued for or against maintaining a state of nature. Is there an inherent virtue in leaving alone a naturally occurring condition, or does the human species thrive when we find ways to improve our circumstances? This volume probes whether "nature" and "the natural" are capable of guiding moral deliberations in policy making.Drawing on philosophy, religion, and political science, this book examines three questions central to debates over the idea of "nature" in human action. Conceptually, they ask what the term means, how it should be considered, and if it is, even in part, a social construct. From a moral perspective, the contributors question if being "natural" is itself of value or if its worth is only as a means to advance other morally acceptable ends. Politically, essays discuss whether appeals to nature can and should affect public policy and, if so, whether they are moral trump cards or should instead be fitted alongside or weighed against other concerns.Achieving consensus on these questions has proven elusive and is almost unimaginable. This fact, however, should not be an obstacle to moving the debate forward. By bringing together disparate approaches to addressing these concepts, The Ideal of Nature suggests the possibility of intermediate positions that move beyond the usual full-throated defense and blanket dismissal found in much of the scholarly discussion. Scholars of bioethics, environmental philosophy, religious studies, sociology, public policy, and political theory will find much merit in this book's lively discussion.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Disposing Nature or Disposing of It?: Reflections on the Instruction of Nature	p. 1
In Defense of Living Nature: Finding Common Ground in a Medieval Tradition	p. 17
Nature as Absence: The Logic of Nature and Culture in Social Contract Theory	p. 29
Human Nature without Theory	p. 49
Preserving the Distinction between Nature and Artifact	p. 71
Why "Nature" Has No Place in Environmental Philosophy	p. 84
The Appeal to Nature	p. 989
Thinkihg Like a Mountain: Nature, Wilderness, and the Virtue of Humility	p. 114
The Did It on Hot Dogs and Beer: Natural Excellence in Human Athletic Achievement	p. 130
Sport, Simulation, and EPO	p. 149
Commonsense Morality and the Idea of Nature:What We Can Learn from Thinking about "Therapy"	p. 168
Rawls, Sports, and Liberal Legitimacy	p. 179
Index	p. 201
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