Respect for nature

"Respect for Nature defends a biocentric theory of environmental ethics. Without making claims for the moral rights of plants and animals, Paul Taylor offers a reasoned alternative to the prevailing anthropocentric view, according to which the natural environment and its wild biotic communities are valued only as objects for human use or enjoyment. What rational justification is there for conceiving of all living things as possessing inherent worth? Professor Taylor develops an answer to this question that will interest not only philosophers but biologists, environmentalists, and general…