Environmental philosophy 2.0: Ethics and conservation biology for the 21st century

•Conservation biology is fraught with philosophical issues.•Biodiversity is a vexed concept that is difficult to operationalize.•Non-anthropocentrism in environmental ethics is far more problematic than anthropocentrism.•Conservation biology poses challenges to traditional philosophy of science.•The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in history and philosophy of science. Part C, Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences, 2014-03, Vol.45, p.92-96
Main Author: Odenbaugh, Jay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Biology
Conservation biology
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecology
Environment
Environmentalism
Ethical Theory
Ethics
Humans
Literature, Modern
Science
Social Values
Species conservation
Systematic conservation planning
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Summary:•Conservation biology is fraught with philosophical issues.•Biodiversity is a vexed concept that is difficult to operationalize.•Non-anthropocentrism in environmental ethics is far more problematic than anthropocentrism.•Conservation biology poses challenges to traditional philosophy of science.•The human species differs from non-human species in degree as do our impacts. In this essay, I critically engage Sahotra Sarkar’s Environmental Philosophy. The several topics include the conceptual foundations of conservation biology and traditional philosophy of science, naturalism and its implications, and ethical theory and specifically the status of human welfare.
ISSN:1369-8486
1879-2499
DOI:10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.11.002