Customer Reviews

Respect for Nature

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This is an excellent book. It is comprehensive, with regard not only to our proper treatment of other animals but to all life, ranging from human life to plant life. In other words, it offers a complete ethics. And contrary to the preceding review, Taylor's view is not at all "anthropocentric." Quite the contrary: it is life itself that takes center stage, with humans finding their place in the total biosphere. The book is also thorough and utterly rigorous in its argumentation. To me this is a virtue since, like Taylor, I am an analytic philosopher. To the average reader this could be a drawback; I cannot in good faith therefore recommend this book to someone who is not acquainted with or does not enjoy the rigors of academic philosophic thinking. But for someone who does, I can think of no better book on the subject of an ethics that gives due consideration to nonhumans. There were passages in this book which, despite my already favorable view of a biocentric ethics, transformed my very being with new and broader understanding and conviction.

This is an important work, which has undoubtedly influenced many in today's green movements. The concept of restitutive justice and nature as a client has informed activists and lawmakers for decades.

I saw it as over-reaching in its fundamental view, in much the same way that Christian missionaries have often historically over-reached when trying to save "savages". Man is a "natural" competitor, similar to any-other plant, animal or even bacteria, in that we all want our way. And if allowed to proliferate any life form will dominate to that point where further domination no longer serves that organism. Species prosper and dominate while their particular set of unique characteristics are well suited to their environments. This is for example why the dinosaurs no longer roam.

Recent history has in my view demonstrated that ham-fisted tinkering with self sustaining ecosystems is perilous in the short term, because of un-intended consequences. However, in the long term nature re-defines itself around the new condition, for example the Salton Sea in California.

Of course we want to minimize obvious damage to ecosystems, but lets not get ahead of ourselves, and imagine that we understand any more than a fraction of a fraction of nature and natural systems.

We tend to cherish today, and the recent past as representing the good, but do we really believe that, or have any supportive evidence. I think respect for evolution is as important as respect for nature, and we must embrace the changes that expanding populations bring.

Consider this, even though it is hard to see, human evolution is rapidly progressing to the point that robots will within the next 20-30 years have legal person hood, rights, and privileges. Will they be forced to limit their development because humans can no longer compete?

A good through book on environmental ethics. Taylor has outlined his anthropocentric view of environmental ethics. He has been complete and thorough in discussing quite a few key issues and in answering possible problems with his theory. A good all-encompassing theory that is much needed in environmental philosophy.