Overview

This reader brings together material from ecological thought, environmental policy, environmental philosophy, social and political thought, historical sociology and cultural studies. The extracts tell the story of the way the natural environment has been understood in the modern world and how this has recently been questioned as contemporary societies are seen as characterised by uncertainty and complexity.

Content and Themes

The literature guides the reader through the conventional grounds for thinking about rights and obligations in relation to future generations, non-human animals and the biotic communities, bringing each into question. This then leads into a critical examination of social and political theories and their capacity for drawing on ecological thought.

Section Introductions

Each of the seven sections of readings is introduced by the editor who locates the set of readings within the specific themes and issues at the heart of each section.

Scope and Significance

This broad-reaching and thought-provoking set of readings stresses the diversity of response to environmental problems both within and between anthropocentric and ecocentric approaches and will encourage the reader to examine how they are manifested in the areas of environmental ethics, policy analysis and social and political theory.