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Defending Biodiversity : Environmental Science and Ethics / Jonathan A Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information Defending Biodiversity Imagine that you are an environmentalist who passionately believes that it is wrong to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. How do you convince someone that a decision to drill is wrong? Debates about the environment and how humans ought to treat it have gone on for decades, yet arguments in favor of preserving biodiversity often lack empirical substance or are philosophically naïve, making them far less effective than they could be. This book critically examines arguments that are commonly offered in support of biodiversity conservation. The authors adopt a skeptical viewpoint to thoroughly test the strength of each argument and, by demonstrating how scientific evidence can be integrated with philosophical reasoning, they help environmentalists to better engage with public debate and judiciously inform public policy. This interdisciplinary and accessible book is essential reading for anyone who engages in discussions about the value of biodiversity conservation. jonathan a. newman is Professor of Ecology, and Dean of the College of Biological Science at the University of Guelph, Canada. gary varner is Professor and former Head of Philosophy at Texas A&M University, USA. stefan linquist is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, both at the University of Guelph, Canada. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information Defending Biodiversity Environmental Science and Ethics jonathan a. newman University of Guelph gary varner Texas A&M University stefan linquist University of Guelph © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 4843/24, 2nd Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi – 110002, India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521768863 DOI: 10.1017/9781139024105 © Jonathan Newman, Gary Varner, Stefan Linquist 2017 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2017 Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc. A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Newman, Jonathan A., author. | Varner, Gary E. (Gary Edward), author. | Linquist, Stefan Paul, author. Title: Defending biodiversity : environmental science and ethics / Jonathan A. Newman, University of Guelph, Gary Varner, Texas A & M University, Stefan Linquist, University of Guelph. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom : New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017023820 | ISBN 9780521768863 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Biodiversity – Moral and ethical aspects. Classification: LCC QH541.15.B56 N49 2017 | DDC 333.95–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023820 ISBN 978-0-521-76886-3 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-14620-3 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information Contents Preface page ix Acknowledgments xiv 1 Biodiversity and the Environmentalist Agenda 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 What Do We Mean by ‘Biodiversity’?2 1.3 Why Think the Earth Is Running Out of Biodiversity? 6 1.4 The Environmentalist Agenda 15 1.5 Total Commitment vs. the Ceteris Paribus Environmentalist 22 1.6 Environmental Ethics and Intrinsic Value 22 1.7 The Structure of this Book 39 1.8 Further Reading 42 PART I INSTRUMENTAL VALUE DEFENSES 43 2 Ecosystem Functioning and Stability 47 2.1 The Basic Argument 47 2.2 Preliminaries 50 2.3 Relationships between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning 51 2.4 Limitations of Experimental Design 60 2.5 A Summary of the Empirical Evidence 67 2.6 Questionable Relevance of the Experimental Evidence 77 2.7 Unpalatable Implied Commitments 86 2.8 Conclusions 91 2.9 Further Reading 92 2.10 Appendix: Economic Value of Ecosystem Functioning 93 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information vi contents 3 The Precautionary Principle 97 3.1 Introduction 97 3.2 What Is a Precautionary Defense? 98 3.3 Defining the Precautionary Principle 100 3.4 Why vs. How: Uses of the Precautionary Principle 101 3.5 The Precautionary Principle, Risk Assessment, and Cost–Benefit Analysis 107 3.6 Further Problems for the Precautionary Principle 118 3.7 Conclusions 130 3.8 Further Reading 131 4 Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Benefits 132 4.1 Introduction 132 4.2 A Precautionary Warning 133 4.3 Is Biodiversity Necessary for Food? 134 4.4 The Argument from Pharmaceutical Value 141 4.5 Conclusions 170 4.6 Further Reading 171 5 Nature-based Tourism and Transformative Value 173 5.1 Introduction 173 5.2 Demand Value of Biodiversity 175 5.3 The Transformative Value of Biodiversity 187 5.4 Conclusions 190 5.5 Further Reading 192 6 How Far Do Instrumental Value Defenses Get Environmentalists? 193 6.1 Introduction 193 6.2 The Ecosystem Function Defense 194 6.3 The Precautionary Defense 195 6.4 The Food and Medicine Defense 195 6.5 Nature-based Tourism and Transformative Value Defenses 200 6.6 Conclusions about Instrumental Value Defenses 200 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information contents vii PART II INTRINSIC VALUE DEFENSES 205 7 Methodology in Philosophical Ethics 209 7.1 Approaches to Justification in Philosophical Ethics 209 7.2 The Role of ‘Thought Experiments’ 223 7.3 Some Conceptual and Terminological Issues 227 7.4 Conclusions 232 7.5 Further Reading 232 8 Extensionism in Environmental Ethics 233 8.1 Introduction 233 8.2 The Animal Welfare/Animal Rights Distinction 234 8.3 Singer’s Utilitarian Sentientism 236 8.4 Regan’s Rights-based (Deontological) Sentientism 243 8.5 The Practical Charges against Sentientism 252 8.6 Can Sentientists Respond to the Practical Charges? 257 8.7 Biocentric Individualism and Environmental Ethics 272 8.8 Beyond ‘The Classical Modernist Paradigm’? 273 8.9 Further Reading 273 9 Ecoholism: Do Ecological Wholes Have Intrinsic Value? 274 9.1 Introduction 274 9.2 Some Non-starters and Common Problems 275 9.3 Extensionist Defenses of Ecoholism 283 9.4 Conclusions 299 9.5 Further Reading 300 10 Ecoholism 2: Callicott on the Leopold Land Ethic 301 10.1 Leopold’s Life and Style of Writing 302 10.2 Callicott’s “Triangular Affair” Paper 307 10.3 Callicott’s Later Interpretation of Leopold 314 10.4 Some Objections to Callicott’s Interpretation of Leopold 333 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information viii contents 10.5 Where Does Reading Leopold get us? 348 10.6 Further Reading 353 11 Should Biodiversity Be Conserved for Its Aesthetic Value? 354 11.1 Introduction 354 11.2 Russow, Sober, and the Duty to Conserve Artwork 361 11.3 The Superficiality Objection 370 11.4 The Problem of Unappealing Species and Ecosystems 374 11.5 Environmental Aesthetics and the Natural Environmental Model 377 11.6 Outstanding Challenges for an Aesthetic Defense of Conservation 383 11.7 Further Reading 386 12 How Far Do Intrinsic Value Defenses Get Environmentalists? 387 12.1 Introduction 387 12.2 Anthropocentrism 387 12.3 Sentientism 393 12.4 Ecoholism and Biocentric Individualism 394 12.5 Aesthetic Intrinsic Value 395 12.6 Conclusions 396 13 Conclusions and Personal Reflections 397 13.1 Jonathan Newman 397 13.2 Gary Varner 403 13.3 Stefan Linquist 408 13.4 Don’t Agree to Disagree 416 13.5 Why Ought We Conserve Biodiversity? 417 References 418 Index 436 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76886-3 — Defending Biodiversity Jonathan A. Newman , Gary Varner , Stefan Linquist Frontmatter More Information Preface This book has three coauthors. Jonathan Newman is an ecologist, former Director of the School of Environmental Sciences, current Dean of the College of Biological Science, and adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph. Gary Varner is an environmental philosopher and animal ethicist, and former head of the Department of Philosophy at Texas A&M University. And Stefan Linquist is a philosopher of biology at the University of Guelph. We want to begin by saying very clearly that: All three of us consider ourselves to be environmentalists, and we all think that biodiversity ought to be conserved.
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