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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
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Searching... | 30000010242933 | GE42 S26 2012 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
We are causing species to go extinct at extraordinary rates, altering existing species in unprecedented ways and creating entirely new species. More than ever before, we require an ethic of species to guide our interactions with them. In this book, Ronald L. Sandler examines the value of species and the ethical significance of species boundaries and discusses what these mean for species preservation in the light of global climate change, species engineering and human enhancement. He argues that species possess several varieties of value, but they are not sacred. It is sometimes permissible to alter species, let them go extinct (even when we are a cause of the extinction) and invent new ones. Philosophically rigorous, accessible and illustrated with examples drawn from contemporary science, this book will be of interest to students of philosophy, bioethics, environmental ethics and conservation biology.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
This book, part of the "Cambridge Applied Ethics" series, is intended as an introductory work focused on developing an ethic that is appropriate considering the power humans have in shaping extinction and conservation, modifying evolutionary forces, and transforming or even creating species. According to Sandler (Northeastern Univ.), a central component of this ethic is an "account of the value of species" as the taxonomic unit that evolutionary and conservation biologists as well as citizens and policy makers typically use in their decision making. The book is divided into eight chapters (plus a brief conclusion), the first of which covers foundational developments on the value of species. Treatments of conservation dilemmas, assisted migration, species boundaries, and de novo creation of species follow. The central claim that the most appropriate treatment of species should be based on the capabilities of individuals and that species do not have absolute or unconditional value is highly controversial. The book is best when it uses examples to illustrate points; however, it is filled with jargon and inaccessible terminology that will be challenging for those not intimately familiar with the background literature. A glossary to distinguish the multitude of similar terms would have been extremely helpful. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. B. Blossey Cornell University
Table of Contents
Preface |
1 Introduction |
2 The value of species |
3 The conservation biology dilemma |
4 Assisted colonization |
5 Shifting goals and changing strategies |
6 The (in)significance of species boundaries |
7 Homo sapiens in particular |
8 Artifactual species |
9 Conclusion |