Philip Cafaro

Thoreau's Living Ethics is the first full, rigorous account of Henry Thoreau's ethical philosophy. Focused on Walden but ranging widely across his writings, the study situates Thoreau within a long tradition of ethical thinking in the West, from the ancients to the Romantics and on to the present day. Philip Cafaro shows Thoreau grappling with important ethical questions that agitated his own society and discusses his value for those seeking to understand contemporary ethical issues. Cafaro's particular interest is in Thoreau's treatment of virtue ethics: the branch of ethics centered on personal and social flourishing. Ranging across the central elements of Thoreau's philosophy—life, virtue, economy, solitude and society, nature, and politics—Cafaro shows Thoreau developing a comprehensive virtue ethics, less based in ancient philosophy than many recent efforts and more grounded in modern life and experience. He presents Thoreau's evolutionary, experimental ethics as superior to the more static foundational efforts of current virtue ethicists. Another main focus is Thoreau's environmental ethics. The book shows Thoreau not only anticipating recent arguments for wild nature's intrinsic value, but also demonstrating how a personal connection to nature furthers self-development, moral character, knowledge, and creativity. Thoreau's life and writings, argues Cafaro, present a positive, life-affirming environmental ethics, combining respect and restraint with an appreciation for human possibilities for flourishing within nature.

Walden and the Pursuit of Virtue

Thoreau's Living Ethics

Ronald D. Sandler

Ronald L. Sandler

There is one certainty regarding the human relationship with nature-there is no getting away from it. But while a relationship with nature is a given, the nature of that relationship is not. Environmental ethics is the attempt to determine how we ought and ought not relate to the natural environment. A complete environmental ethic requires both an ethic of action and an ethic of character. Environmental virtue ethics is the area of environmental ethics concerned with character. It has been an underappreciated and underdeveloped aspect of environmental ethics-until now. The selections in this collection, consisting of ten original and four reprinted essays by leading scholars in the field, discuss the role that virtue and character have traditional played in environmental discourse, and reflect upon the role that it should play in the future. The selections also discuss the substantive content of the environmental virtues and vices, and apply them to concrete environmental issues and problems. This collection establishes the indispensability of environmental virtue ethics to environmental ethics. It also enhances the breadth and quality of the ongoing discussion of environmental virtue and vice and the role they should play in an adequate environmental ethic.

Environmental Virtue Ethics

Eileen Crist

Life on the Brink aspires to reignite a robust discussion of population issues among environmentalists, environmental studies scholars, policymakers, and the general public. Some of the leading voices in the American environmental movement restate the case that population growth is a major force behind many of our most serious ecological problems, including global climate change, habitat loss and species extinctions, air and water pollution, and food and water scarcity. As we surpass seven billion world inhabitants, contributors argue that ending population growth worldwide and in the United States is a moral imperative that deserves renewed commitment. Hailing from a range of disciplines and offering varied perspectives, these essays hold in common a commitment to sharing resources with other species and a willingness to consider what will be necessary to do so. In defense of nature and of a vibrant human future, contributors confront hard issues regarding contraception, abortion, immigration, and limits to growth that many environmentalists have become too timid or politically correct to address in recent years. Ending population growth will not happen easily. Creating genuinely sustainable societies requires major change to economic systems and ethical values coupled with clear thinking and hard work. Life on the Brink is an invitation to join the discussion about the great work of building a better future. Contributors: Albert Bartlett, Joseph Bish, Lester Brown, Tom Butler, Philip Cafaro, Martha Campbell, William R. Catton Jr., Eileen Crist, Anne Ehrlich, Paul Ehrlich, Robert Engelman, Dave Foreman, Amy Gulick, Ronnie Hawkins, Leon Kolankiewicz, Richard Lamm, Jeffrey McKee, Stephanie Mills, Roderick Nash, Tim Palmer, Charmayne Palomba, William Ryerson, Winthrop Staples III, Captain Paul Watson, Don Weeden, George Wuerthner.

Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation

Life on the Brink

Clive Hamilton

Juliet B. Schor

Henry David Thoreau

Duane Elgin

Richard Denniss

John de Graaf

Jim Merkel

Mark Alan Burch

Amatai Etzioni

Jerome Segal

Alan Durning

Richard Gregg

Arnold Mitchell

Eric Freyfogle

Mary Grigsby

David Shi

Intended as an invitation to an alternative way of life, this anthology, released by Wanganui publishers Stead and Daughters, brings together some of the most important literature on the post-consumerist living strategy known as 'voluntary simplicity.' By examining afresh our relationship with money, material possessions, the planet, ourselves and each other, the simple life of voluntary simplicity is about discovering the freedom and contentment that comes with knowing how much consumption is truly enough. And this might be a theme that has something to say to everyone, especially those of us who are everyday bombarded with thousands of cultural messages insisting that 'more is always better.' Voluntary simplicity is an art of living that is aglow with the insight that 'just enough is plenty.' The contributors to this anthology - all leading figures in the voluntary simplicity movement - are highly distinguished scholars, activists, educators, and artists. Brought together so comprehensively for the first time, the result is a collection of the very best writing on one of today's most important but neglected ideas. This progressive book is essential reading for the thoughtful non-conformist.

The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture

Voluntary Simplicity

How many immigrants should we allow into the US annually, and who gets to come? The question is easy to ask, but hard to answer, for thoughtful individuals and for our nation as a whole. Philosopher Philip Cafaro answers the question as a political progressive who, perhaps surprisingly, wants to reduce immigration into the United States. Cafaro details how current immigration levelsthe highest in American historyundermine attempts to achieve progressive economic, environmental and social goals. He shows that by thinking through immigration, liberals can get clearer on their own goals. These do not include having the largest possible percentage of racial and ethnic minoritiesbut creating a society free of racial discrimination, where diversity is appreciated. They do not include an ever-growing economybut an economy that works for the good of society as a whole. They most certainly do not include a crowded, cooked, polluted, ever-more-tamed environmentbut a healthy, spacious landscape with sufficient room for wild nature. Finally, liberals goals should include playing our proper role as global citizenswhile paying attention to our special responsibilities as Americans. Like it or not, those responsibilities include setting US immigration policy."

The Progressive Argument for Reducing Immigration Into the United States

How Many Is Too Many?

Philip Cafaro

Books

Your next favorite book is out there