Beyond the land ethic : more essays in environmental philosophy /

Callicott is a major figure in environmental philosophy, and this important second collection of his essays represents his most recent thinking. Here he elaborates his theories, responds and adjusts to criticism, and explores new areas. The responses to critics alone make the book worthwhile. In the opening section, he explains his view of the practicality of environmental philosophy and dispels the charge of ecofacism, leveled at ecocentric moral theories. Particularly significant is his "revisiting" the bases of the land ethic, which has been attacked from a variety of perspectives. As in his recent Earth's Insights (1994), Callicott responds to deconstructive postmodern critics, arguing that, with a few modifications, the land ethic is as viable today as ever. Also, in several essays, Callicott advances his own ideas for a reconstructive postmodern worldview, which he sees as already altering the way we view nature, and which involves recasting epistemology and metaphysics. These themes, plus his discussions of moral monism, intrinsic value, ecosystem health, and conservation biology (among other topics), demonstrate Callicott's impressive range, scholarship, and insight, and prove again that environmental philosophy is much more than applied ethics. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. W. Ouderkirk; SUNY Empire State College