Environmental Ethics 35 (1):7-25 (2013)
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Abstract |
John O’Neill, Alan Holland, and Andrew Light usefully distinguish two ways of thinking about environmental values, namely, end-state and historical views. To value nature in an end-state way is to value it because it instantiates certain properties, such as complexity or diversity. In contrast, a historical view says that nature’s value is (partly) determined by its particular history. Three contemporary defenses of a historical view are explored in order to clarify: (1) the normatively relevant history; (2) how historical considerations are supposed to instruct environmental decision making; and (3) the relative importance of historical and end-state considerations. There are multiple reasons for including historical considerations in an account of environmental values. For example, knowledge of a natural object’s history can add depth and texture to our appreciation of that object. Further, if we were blind to the relevant history, we could not adequately understand and defend environmental policy goals such as preserving the potentials of natural systems or maintaining ecological health, for these goals appear to have irreducibly historical aspects. While historical considerations are important, such considerations are insufficient to guide our normative thinking about nature and how it should be dealt with practically. But they succeed in broadening and deepening our understanding of the nature and sources of environmental value.
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Keywords | Environmental values Environmental ethics |
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ISBN(s) | 0163-4275 |
DOI | 10.5840/enviroethics20133513 |
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References found in this work BETA
Faking Nature.Robert Elliot - 1982 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 25 (1):81 – 93.
Why It is Important to Take Account of History.Alan Holland - 2011 - Ethics, Policy and Environment 14 (3):377 - 392.
Citations of this work BETA
The Ethics of Historic Preservation.Erich Hatala Matthes - 2016 - Philosophy Compass 11 (12):786-794.
Aesthetic and Historical Values - Their Difference and Why It Matters.Levi Tenen - 2020 - Environmental Values 29 (5):519-535.
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