The premise of this book is that our environmental dilemmas are
products of biological and sociocultural evolution, and that
through an understanding of evolution we can reframe debates of
thought and action. The purpose is to explain the wide variety of
environmental worldviews, their origins, commonalities, points of
contention, and their implications for the modern environmental
movement. In three parts covering the origins, evolution and future
of environmentalism, it offers instructors and students a framework
on which to map theory, case studies and classical literature. It
is shown that environmentalism can be described in terms of six
human values-utility, stability, equity, beauty, sanctity, and
morality-and that these are deeply rooted in our biological and
cultural origins. In building this case the book draws upon
ecology, philosophy, psychology, history, biology, economics,
spirituality, and aesthetics, but rather than consider these all
independently it integrates them to craft a mosaic narrative of our
species and its home. From our evolutionary origins a story
emerges; it is the story of humankind, how we have come to threaten
our own existence, and why we seem to have such difficulty in
acting together to ensure our common future. Understanding our
environmental problems in evolutionary terms gives us a way
forward. It suggests an environmentalism in which material views of
human life include spirituality, in which our anthropocentric
behaviors incorporate ecological function, and in which
environmental problems are addressed by the intentional relation of
humans to the nonhuman world and to one another. Aimed at students
taking courses in environmental studies, the book brings clarity to
a complex and, at times, confusing array of ideas and concepts of
environmentalism.
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