Environmental Virtue Ethics

There is one certainty regarding the human relationship with nature-there is no getting away from it. But while a relationship with nature is a given, the nature of that relationship is not. Environmental ethics is the attempt to determine how we ought and ought not relate to the natural environment. A complete environmental ethic requires both an ethic of action and an ethic of character. Environmental virtue ethics is the area of environmental ethics concerned with character. It has been an underappreciated and underdeveloped aspect of environmental ethics-until now. The selections in this collection, consisting of ten original and four reprinted essays by leading scholars in the field, discuss the role that virtue and character have traditional played in environmental discourse, and reflect upon the role that it should play in the future. The selections also discuss the substantive content of the environmental virtues and vices, and apply them to concrete environmental issues and problems. This collection establishes the indispensability of environmental virtue ethics to environmental ethics. It also enhances the breadth and quality of the ongoing discussion of environmental virtue and vice and the role they should play in an adequate environmental ethic.

In Character and Environment, Ronald L. Sandler brings together contemporary work on virtue ethics with contemporary work on environmental ethics. He demonstrates the many ways that any ethic of character can and should be informed by environmental considerations. He also develops a pluralistic, virtue-oriented environmental ethic that accommodates the richness and complexity of our relationship with the natural environment and provides effective and nuanced guidance on environmental issues.

The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have seen a renaissance in the study of virtue -- a topic that has prevailed in philosophical work since the time of Aristotle. Several major developments have conspired to mark this new age. Foremost among them, some argue, is the birth of virtue ethics, an approach to ethics that focuses on virtue in place of consequentialism (the view that normative properties depend only on consequences) or deontology (the study of what we have a moral duty to do). The emergence of new virtue theories also marks this new wave of work on virtue. Put simply, these are theories about what virtue is, and they include Kantian and utilitarian virtue theories. Concurrently, virtue ethics is being applied to other fields where it hasn't been used before, including bioethics and education. In addition to these developments, the study of virtue in epistemological theories has become increasingly widespread to the point that it has spawned a subfield known as 'virtue epistemology.' This volume therefore provides a representative overview of philosophical work on virtue. It is divided into seven parts: conceptualizations of virtue, historical and religious accounts, contemporary virtue ethics and theories of virtue, central concepts and issues, critical examinations, applied virtue ethics, and virtue epistemology. Forty-two chapters by distinguished scholars offer insights and directions for further research. In addition to philosophy, authors also deal with virtues in non-western philosophical traditions, religion, and psychological perspectives on virtue.

Whatever its origins, EVE (Environmental Virtue Ethics) now appears to be a vital part of the environmental philosophy landscape. Whether you look to it for an alternative to other theoretical approaches to environmental ethics, or as a complement to them, there are a number of ways EVE clarifies our environmental choices and responsibilities. This is an exciting collection that addresses compelling issues, not only in EVE, but in environmental philosophy more broadly. In addition to their individual merits, these articles collectively demonstrate the value of EVE to environmental philosophy and the value of environmental philosophy in helping create sustainable societies and preserve nature. Recent movement on negotiating a strong successor to the Kyoto Treaty gives some hope that the world is waking up to the moral imperative to protect the Earth. But whether people will be willing to ratchet down our economic demands and reshape our economies to reflect this hoped-for moral progress remains to be seen. Previously published in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Volume 23 (1-2), 2010

Environmental Ethics in Buddhism presents a logical and thorough examination of the metaphysical and ethical dimensions of early Buddhist literature. The author determines the meaning of nature in the early Buddhist context from general Buddhist teachings on dhamma, paticcasamuppada, samsara and the cosmogony of the Agganna Sutta. Consequently, the author shows that early Buddhism can be understood as an environmental virtue ethics. To illustrate this dimension, the Jatakas are used as a source. These are a collection of over five hundred folk tales, which also belong to early Buddhist literature. This work gives an innovative approach to the subject, which puts forward a distinctly Buddhist environmental ethics that is in harmony with traditional teachings as well as adaptable and flexible in addressing environmental problems.

Whatever its origins, EVE (Environmental Virtue Ethics) now appears to be a vital part of the environmental philosophy landscape. Whether you look to it for an alternative to other theoretical approaches to environmental ethics, or as a complement to them, there are a number of ways EVE clarifies our environmental choices and responsibilities. This is an exciting collection that addresses compelling issues, not only in EVE, but in environmental philosophy more broadly. In addition to their individual merits, these articles collectively demonstrate the value of EVE to environmental philosophy and the value of environmental philosophy in helping create sustainable societies and preserve nature. Recent movement on negotiating a strong successor to the Kyoto Treaty gives some hope that the world is waking up to the moral imperative to protect the Earth. But whether people will be willing to ratchet down our economic demands and reshape our economies to reflect this hoped-for moral progress remains to be seen. Previously published in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Volume 23 (1-2), 2010

No Marketing Blurb

Buddhism, one increasingly hears, is an 'eco-friendly' religion. It is often said that this is because it promotes an 'ecological' view of things, one stressing the essential unity of human beings and the natural world. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment presents a different view. While agreeing that Buddhism is, in many important respects, in tune with environmental concerns, Cooper and James argue that what makes it 'green' is its view of human life. The true connection between the religion and environmental thought is to be found in Buddhist accounts of the virtues - those traits, such as compassion, equanimity and humility, that characterise the life of a spiritually enlightened individual. Central chapters of this book examine these virtues and their implications for environmental attitudes and practice. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment will be of interest not only to students and teachers of Buddhism and environmental ethics, but to those more generally engaged with moral philosophy. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book presents an original conception of Buddhist environmental thought. The authors also contribute to the wider debate on the place of ethics in Buddhist teachings and practices, and to debates within 'virtue ethics' on the relations between human well-being and environmental concern.