"As environmental issues become ever more central in democratic societies, understanding the ethical basis on which our relationship with the environment is structured has never been more important. The centrality of environmental issues in policy disputes, business decisions, political conflicts, and consumer choices requires us to have a clear sense of our ethical obligations with respect to the environment.
"Environmental Ethics from the Roots Up: An Introductory Anthology" enables students from the humanities, science, and social sciences to consider the normative issues that arise across many environmental debates, uncovering the underlying conceptual tensions and philosophical viewpoints. In the process, students will learn why environmental issues are so pervasive and controversies so difficult to resolve, and what ethical resources we have for addressing them.
The distinctive selection and organization of the material gives students an incisive, thoughtful overview of the subject matter. Students will read not only classic work in ethical theory and crucial pieces by environmental philosophers, but also pieces that ground philosophical debates in social and natural science.
Heather Douglas received her Ph.D. from the History and Philosophy of Science Department at the University of Pittsburgh. She first taught environmental ethics as the Phibbs Assistant Professor of Science and Ethics at the University of Puget Sound, and then as an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Douglas currently teaches at the University of Waterloo, where she holds the Waterloo Chair in Science and Society in the Department of Philosophy. Her research focuses on the relationship between science and policy with particular interest in environmental issues and has been supported by the National Science Foundation. She is the author of the book "Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal (2009)," as well as numerous articles, and has served on the Governing Board of the Philosophy of Science Association and the Section L committee for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.""