John Dewey and Environmental Philosophy

Hugh P. McDonald

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780791458747, 9780791458730
• eBook ISBN: 9780791486214
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Pragmatism in Philosophy

A comprehensive look at how John Dewey's ethics can inform environmental issues.

Hugh P. McDonald's John Dewey and Environmental Philosophy breaks new ground by applying Dewey's insights to a new approach to philosophy of the environment; the concern for the rights of animals; the preservation of rare species, habitats, and landscapes; and the health of the whole ecology. The book summarizes much of the current literature on environmental ethics, concentrating on the writings of major figures in the movement: Tom Regan, J. Baird Callicott, Holmes Rolston, and Bryan Norton. The heart of the book consists of a detailed analysis of Dewey's ethics, his theory of intrinsic value, and his holistic approach to moral justification. Arguing against the idea that Dewey's philosophy is anthropocentric, McDonald makes a strong case that using Dewey's philosophy will result in a superior framework for environmental ethics.

Table of contents

• JOHN DEWEY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• PREFACE
• 1. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND INTRINSIC VALUE
• PROLOGUE TO CHAPTER 2. The Setting of the Problem of Pragmatism and the Environment: The Critique of Pragmatism as an Environmental Ethics in Taylor, Bowers, Katz, and Weston
• 2. DEWEY’S NATURALISM
• 3. DEWEY’S INSTRUMENTALISM
• 4. DEWEY’S (MORAL) HOLISM
• 5. DEWEY’S ETHICS AS A BASIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Epilogue. PRAGMATISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX