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The Ethics of Species

The Ethics of Species

The Ethics of Species

An Introduction
Ronald L. Sandler, Northeastern University, Boston
November 2012
Available
Hardback
9781107023468

    We are causing species to go extinct at extraordinary rates, altering existing species in unprecedented ways, and creating entirely new species. More than ever before, we require an ethic of species to guide our interactions with them. In this book, Ronald L. Sandler examines the value of species and the ethical significance of species boundaries, and discusses what these mean for species preservation in the light of global climate change, species engineering and human enhancement. He argues that species possess several varieties of value, but they are not sacred. It is sometimes permissible to alter species, let them go extinct (even when we are a cause of the extinction) and invent new ones. Philosophically rigorous, accessible and illustrated with examples drawn from contemporary science, this book will be of interest to students of philosophy, bioethics, environmental ethics and conservation biology.

    • Connects philosophical questions about the value of species with cutting edge applied issues in genetic modification, climate change, human enhancement and artificial life
    • The text is concise and written to be accessible to students and to non-philosophers/ethicists, such as those working in conservation biology and in synthetic genomics
    • Includes many examples throughout the text to ground the discussions and provide illustration

    Reviews & endorsements

    "… a worthy addition to a burgeoning subfield of bioethics … addresses problems intuitively familiar to us - what species are and why we value them - in an intellectually rigorous and engaging manner … his account is developed well. For the philosophically inclined, The Ethics of Species provides a readable and comprehensive perspective on current ethical analysis of species, transgenics, and conservation biology."
    P. William Hughes, Science

    "… intended as an introductory work focused on developing an ethic that is appropriate considering the power humans have in shaping extinction and conservation, modifying evolutionary forces, and transforming or even creating species … The book is best when it uses examples to illustrate points … Recommended …"
    B. Blossey, Choice

    "The rich analysis Sandler offers in The Ethics of Species provides a strong foundation to the philosopher interested in the normative standing of biological species."
    Environmental Values

    See more reviews

    Product details

    November 2012
    Hardback
    9781107023468
    248 pages
    249 × 170 × 15 mm
    0.6kg
    1 b/w illus.
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Preface
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. The value of species
    • 3. The conservation biology dilemma
    • 4. Assisted colonization
    • 5. Shifting goals and changing strategies
    • 6. The (in)significance of species boundaries
    • 7. Homo sapiens in particular
    • 8. Artifactual species
    • 9. Conclusion.
      Author
    • Ronald L. Sandler , Northeastern University, Boston

      Ronald Sandler is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Ethics Institute at Northeastern University. He is also a senior researcher in Northeastern's Environmental Justice Research Collaborative and its Nanotechnology and Society Research Group. Ronald Sandler is author of Character and Environment: A Virtue-oriented Approach to Environmental Ethics (2007) and Nanotechnology: The Social and Ethical Issues (2009). He is co-editor of Environmental Virtue Ethics (with Philip Cafaro, 2005) and of Environmental Justice and Environmentalism: The Social Justice Challenge to the Environmental Movement (with Phaedra C. Pezzullo, 2007).