Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics

Paul Taylor’s book Respect for Nature (1986) was perhaps the most comprehensive and philosophically sophisticated defense of biocentric ethics. Taylor provided a philosophical account of why life should be accepted as the criterion of moral standing, and he offered a reasoned and principled account of the practical implications…

… best known for his book Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics (1986), which promulgated the biocentric viewpoint in environmental ethics and was a foundational work of environmental philosophy.