What is the environment, and how does it figure in an ethical life? This book is an introduction to the philosophical issues involved in this important question, focussing primarily on ethics but also encompassing questions in aesthetics and political philosophy. Topics discussed include the environment as an ethical question, human morality, meta-ethics, normative ethics, humans and other animals, the value of nature, and nature's future. The discussion is accessible and richly illustrated with examples. The book will be valuable for students taking courses in environmental philosophy, and also for a wider audience in courses in ethics, practical ethics, and environmental studies. It will also appeal to general readers who want a reliable and sophisticated introduction to the field.

'The sooner we start addressing environmental issues as ethical and moral issues the better, for that is what they are. Dale Jamieson is not only an outstanding environmental ethicist but also a great teacher who knows his science as well as his philosophy. All this shows, indeed, shines, in his excellent new book Ethics and the Environment: An Introduction. We've heard a lot about environmental issues from scientists, economists and lawyers. It's time we listened more to the philosophers, preachers, poets and psychologists.'

James Gustave Speth - Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

'In Ethics and the Environment Dale Jamieson introduces us to the full array of issues in meta-ethics, ethical theory, and the theory of value that we must assimilate in order to fully understand and evaluate the effects of human action and inaction upon nature. Empirically well-informed and crisply written, challenging but never preachy, this beautifully conceived book is by a true master of the subject.'

Michael Smith - Department of Philosophy, Princeton University

'The material covered in the chapters on ethics is essential to a proper understanding of ethics and the environment and the chapter on animals is a clear and concise account of that very relevant topic. Add those elements to the illuminating discussion of the value of nature and the result is a book that can be recommended with confidence to anyone interested in learning about ethics, the environment and the interaction between them.'

Source: The Times Literary Supplement

'Here, at long last, is an excellent single-author text that can be used in undergraduate environmental ethics courses in tandem with one of the many good anthologies of landmark essays. Jamieson (NYU) offers a welcome new volume for those in search of accessible, sophisticated and sustained discussions of the ethical perspectives that inform the discipline.'

Source: Choice