Searching for Sustainability : Interdisciplinary Essays in the Philosophy of Conservation Biology

by Norton, Bryan G.

• ISBN13: 9780511029608
• ISBN10: 0511029608
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-10-17
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book examines from a multidisciplinary viewpoint the question of what we mean - what we should mean - by setting sustainability as a goal for environmental management. The author, trained as a philosopher of science and language, explores ways to break down the disciplinary barriers to communication and deliberation about environment policy, and to integrate science and evaluations into a more comprehensive environmental policy. Choosing sustainability as the keystone concept of environmental policy, the author explores what we can learn about sustainable living from the philosophy of pragmatism, from ecology, from economics, from planning, from conservation biology and from related disciplines. The idea of adaptive, or experimental, management provides the context, while insights from various disciplines are integrated into a comprehensive philosophy of environmental management. The book will appeal to students and professionals in the fields of environmental policy and ethics, conservation biology, and philosophy of science.

Table of Contents

General Introduction: An Interdisciplinary Experiment	p. 1
Pragmatism as an Environmental Philosophy	p. 9
The Constancy of Leopold's Land Ethic	p. 13
Acknowledgments	p. 28
Literature Cited	p. 29
Thoreau and Leopold on Science and Values	p. 30
References	p. 45
Two Approaches to Environmental Values	p. 47
Notes	p. 73
A Comment on Arne Naess on Wolf Policies	p. 78
Notes	p. 85
Pragmatism, Adaptive Management, and Sustainability	p. 88
Notes	p. 101
References	p. 103
Science, Policy, and Policy Science	p. 105
What is a Conservation Biologist?	p. 107
History, Values, and Policy	p. 110
References	p. 127
Leopold as Practical Moralist and Pragmatic Policy Analyst	p. 130
Notes	p. 135
The Role of Ecologists in Environmental Policy Formation	p. 136
Literature Cited	p. 162
Economics and Environmental Sustainability	p. 165
Sustainability, Human Welfare, and Ecosystem Health	p. 168
Notes	p. 180
References	p. 181
Economists' Preferences and the Preferences of Economists	p. 183
Notes	p. 198
References	p. 199
Two Competing Paradigms	p. 201
Notes	p. 222
References	p. 223
Ecological and Economic Perspectives	p. 225
Notes	p. 241
References	p. 243
Why 'sovereign' Preferences May Not Lead to Sustainable Policies and What to Do About It	p. 249
References	p. 274
Ecology as If Humans Mattered	p. 277
Context and Hierarchy in Aldo Leopold's Theory of Environmental Management	p. 280
References	p. 287
A Hierarchical Approach	p. 288
References and Notes	p. 303
At What Scale?	p. 305
References	p. 325
The New Ecology and Some Old Problems	p. 328
Notes	p. 343
Democracy and Sense of Place Values in Environmental Policy	p. 345
References	p. 367
Some Elements of a Philosophy of Sustainable Living	p. 373
A Broader Look at Animal Stewardship	p. 375
Notes	p. 393
References	p. 394
A Reflection on Values for the Proposed Earth Charter	p. 396
Notes	p. 416
Intergenerational Equity and Sustainability	p. 420
Notes	p. 447
Valuing Sustainability: Toward a More Comprehensive Approach to Environmental Evaluation	p. 457
The Limits of Quantification in Valuing Biodiversity	p. 460
References	p. 466
The Cultural Approach to Conservation Biology	p. 467
References	p. 476
New Directions Needed?	p. 478
References	p. 492
What Do We Owe the Future? How Should We Decide?	p. 493
References	p. 512
Environmental Values and Adaptive Management	p. 514
Notes	p. 544
References	p. 545
Index	p. 549
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