Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology [Paperback]

Michael E. Zimmerman (Author), J. Baird Callicott

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1993 | ISBN-10: 013666959X | ISBN-13: 978-0136669593

Edited by a team of nationally-recognized experts, this anthology features the best available selections -- some written especially for this volume.

Conceptually focused and easily manageable, this book is divided into five sections that explore the full spectrum of concerns in contemporary Eco-philosophy -- Environmental Ethics, Deep Ecology, Ecofeminism, Political Ecology, Animal Liberation/Rights.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This impressive and encompassing anthology of recent essays--some especially written for this collection--offers readers philosophical diagnoses of the current ecological crisis. It comes divided into five sections, each dealing with a particular approach to ecological issues, and each edited and introduced by a leading author in the field.

From the Back Cover

This impressive and encompassing anthology ofrecent essays -- some of which were especially written for thiscollection -- offers readers philosophical diagnoses of the currentecological crisis. Divided into five sections, eachdealing with a particular approach to ecological issues and eachedited and introduced by a leading author in the field, this volumeoffers the broadest range of contemporary perspectives available onthis subject today. These include a unique compilation of essaysspanning the whole field of contemporary eco-philosophy, includinganimal rights, environmental ethics, deep ecology, ecofeminism, andsocial ecology ... a good mix of recent "classics" along with currentmaterial addressing the latest controversies ... plus a specialsection concerning "animal liberation/rights." Ideal foranyone with a keen interest in developing a theoretical account of theorigins of the ecological crisis.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013666959X
• ISBN-13: 978-0136669593
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,294,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J, Baird Callicott is University Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and formerly Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Texas. He is the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy and author or editor of a score of books and author of dozens of journal articles, encyclopedia articles, and book chapters in environmental philosophy and ethics. Callicott has served the International Society for Environmental Ethics as President and Yale University as Bioethicist-in-Residence, and he has served the UNT Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies as chair. His research goes forward simultaneously on four main fronts: theoretical environmental ethics, comparative environmental ethics and philosophy, the philosophy of ecology and conservation policy, and biocomplexity in the environment, coupled natural and human systems (sponsored by the National Science Foundation). Callicott is perhaps best known as the leading contemporary exponent of Aldo Leopold's land ethic and is currently exploring an Aldo Leopold Earth ethic in response to global climate change. He taught the world's first course in environmental ethics in 1971 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His teaching at UNT includes graduate and undergraduate courses in ancient Greek philosophy and ethical theory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction to Environmental Philosophy, July 5, 2002

By 

mrgrieves08 (tucson) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology (Paperback)

Regardless of whether you are interested in deep ecology, animal rights, envirnmental ethics,eco-feminism or political ecology, this excellently edited edition will have something of interest for you. Those who are looking for a more scientific approach to examing our relationship with nature, as oppossed to the more philosophical writings of Muir, Thoreau and Abbey, this book will be especially appreciated.
Published primarily for use in environmetal philosophy/science courses at the university level, this book is very useful in providing a well researched, diversen sampling from some of the most important theorists in the field. Essays by J. Baird Calicott, Tom Regan, author of the revolutionary work "The Case Animal Rights", Holmes Rolston III, author of the seminal text "Environmetal Ethics", the Norweigan philosopher Arne Naess and , the so-called founder of the deep Ecology movement, Aldo Leopold, author of the famous "Sand County Almanac", as well as works by other important scholars such as George Sessions, Warick Fox, the famous eco-feminist historian Carolyn Merchant, John Clark and Gary Snyder along with many others.
Although the essays contianed in this text can be challenging at times, in the end the payoff definitely makes it worth the effort. This difficulty is, at least, in part due to the fact that what this book requires is a new way of examining our relationship with nature and a willingness to examine problems from a more holistic perspective, which can sometimes be a hard thing for those taught that the world is here simply for man's exploitation (gender specificity intended). This volume is particularly effective in giving students a well-rounded introduction to many of the most important issues in environmental writing today. As the seriousness of our ecological problems persist and even worsen, this book will continue to be a highly informative source of information for students and instructors for years to come.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reader!, May 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology (Paperback)

I'm convinced this is the best way to learn about Environmental Philosophy! While some sections are difficult and can bog you down, most are clear and well-written.

I'd recommend this book as both a teaching tool and as something you can pick up to learn on your own. It's more difficult than most pleasure reading but the subject is particurarily heavy.

This kind of education is essential to the environmentalist or someone trying to understand the movement.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great content, poor production, September 28, 2011

By 

Travis Jordan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology (4th Edition) (Paperback)

The book is essentially what you'd see as a reader for an environmental philosophy class. The editor does a good job -trying- to distinguish between the different views each author has on particular elements, but at some points he sort of gives into the chaos and just makes it clear that things are quite complex. It would not have been difficult to make some tables regarding who stands where on what issues in what contexts - this is the type of orientation that students really need.

The content itself is valuable, and I'm glad to have been exposed to it. However, this is essentially just a nicely produced reader, with many essays decades old, and I'd have been just as happy with a 5th hand, coffee stained copy from some free pile . . . or even finding the articles online.

I'm pretty mad at this book, and I don't really get mad. First, the spine began to crack and peel away while reading first chapter - the kind of thing where the sections of pages start coming apart, opening the spine even more for more sections to get free. THIS SUCKS. I had to try taping the thing up, which didn't help much, and only opening the book half way while reading; if I had pushed the book open flat onto a table the whole spine would certainly have cracked. Second, this text has no index. No index. I've worked with a publisher before and there is software that will generate an index based on certain types of words meeting certain thresholds - it's not labor intensive anymore. The audience for this text is university students who NEED to be able to find key ideas/authors/events quickly. If this were a $15 paperback, which it should be, I wouldn't be complaining. I paid $70 for this book, which is essentially a reader, which fell apart while carefully reading it, and I had to create my own index by hand!

I really suggest you find some way to avoid paying for this text!