The Ethics of Nature explores humanity's treatment of the natural world from a Christian perspective. The book presents a range of ethical debates arising from our relationship with nature, including current controversies about the environment, animal rights, biotechnology, consciousness, and cloning. It sets the immediate issues in the context of underlying theological and philosophical assumptions, and draws out broader concerns for social justice. Complex scientific issues are explained in clear and intelligible language.
Throughout the book, the author draws on primary sources from Thomas Aquinas, and develops her own distinctive ethical approach. This demonstrates that a virtue ethic centred on wisdom provides the most appropriate way to approach the ethics of nature. She has held academic posts in both plant science and theology, giving her an ideal vantage point from which to write.