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  • A New Environmental Ethics — The Next Millennium for Life of Earth by Holmes Rolston III
  • Lisbeth Witthøfft Nielsen (bio) and Zohar Lederman (bio)
A New Environmental Ethics — The Next Millennium for Life of Earth by Holmes Rolston III Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, New York and London, 2012, 256pp ISBN-10: 0415884845 ISBN-13: 978-0415884846

Over the past 30 to 40 years, scholars from various disciplines have been debating the moral relation between human beings, animals and the environment, shaping environmental ethics as an academic discipline. In A New Environmental Ethics — The Next Millennium for Life on Earth, Holmes Rolston III articulately introduces his readers to that discipline. He critically reviews different ethical approaches to environmental ethics, and pulls no punches when accusing everyone for the degradation of the earth: corporations, governments and people. His writing is engaging and his knowledge wide, making the book an excellent introductory textbook to the field. The book forms a comprehensive introduction to the field as a whole, but each chapter introduces a specific area of environmental ethics, and may be read individually.

In the Introduction, Rolston succinctly describes some key events and environmental disasters in the past, summarising central ideas of relevant figures and placing them in a historical context. Despite its introductory format, the author does not hold back with respect to his own position, and at times seems to be preaching, rather than educating. The new environmental ethic favoured by the author is a holistic Earth ethic that takes into account the Earth as the “ultimate survival unit” which ought to be respected through careful management of natural resources and protection of biodiversity, ecosystems and the Earth as a whole. According to Rolston, man may be the sole measurer of morality, but is not the sole bearer of moral value.

In Chapter 2, the author sets the stage for discussion, chanting a hymn of praise for humankind. How we approach environmental issues depends on [End Page 386] our perception of the relationship between humans and non-human nature; the urban, rural and wild. A crucial question is whether the ethical sphere solely includes human beings or rather non-human nature as well. According to Rolston, ethical concerns for non-human life and non-life are grounded in altruism. To look beyond human interests, to consider the interests of non-human life and the value of ecosystems and landscapes is, he claims, the most genuine form of altruism (pp. 59–60). While the author distances himself from the idea that non-human animals can have moral agency, he supports an ethic which emphasises how human well-being is closely linked to environmental protection and sustainable development. In this respect, he mentions “One World, One Health” as a novel initiative which links human medicine to animal medicine and ecological conservation; this approach “moves us toward thinking of healthy sustainable development” (p. 36).

The following chapters address specific issues, starting with animal ethics, moving on to the question of moral value and the status of species, and lastly an Earth ethic which expands the ethical sphere to include life-sustaining systems.

The book’s strong suit is its ability to stimulate philosophical and ethical thinking among its readers. It is widely referenced, and will surely encourage readers to seek more information and to develop independent views. This feature, combined with the author’s poetic writing style and obvious passion for the topic, renders this volume a powerful tool for educators to kindle interest and attract new scholars to the field.

However, we would like to highlight a few weaknesses. First, the book synthesises mainstream ideas within environmental ethics, but it often refers rather minimally to some of these ideas. For example, “Deep Ecology” is only referred to twice in the main text. Second, Rolston considers his readers to be mainly college students, and although he is probably correct, this may cause his writing to be repellent at times to readers with certain sensitivities. For instance, in page 26, he writes: “Becoming educated is becoming civilized”, and claims that one has to live three-dimensionally by experiencing the urban, the rural and the wild. Does the author mean that societies which...

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