Environment and ethics : a New Zealand contribution

Abstract

This collection of essays promotes a dialogue between a group of philosophers and ecologists on the subject of environmental ethics. Through group meetings and a mutual exchange of drafts over a period of two years, each author has been made aware of the thinking of others, so common themes and questions have been addressed. Nonetheless there are contrasts between the essays which the reader will observe, even though in the two preservation essays there is joint authorship. Often discussions of this kind are strong ethics and weak on ecology, or vice versa. I believe we have here a set of integrated discussions from authors with skills from both disciplines. The collection includes the full text of the following essays: Les Molloy & Jim Wilson, Why preserve wilderness?; Alastair S. Gunn & Alan Edmonds, Why preserve species?; Diane Hunt, Responsibility to future people; Graeme Scott, Pollution as a transfer of consequences; Why are non-human animals objects of moral concern?; John Morton, The anatomy of decision; Chris Parkin, The human element; Graeme Scott, An ethic for nature.