Ethics for Disaster

by Naomi Zack

Ethics for Disaster shows how individual and government preparation and response to hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, pandemics, and other disasters are ethical matters. Confronting the social inequalities revealed by these disasters, we must also acknowledge how the lack of preparation for climate change and pandemics has shifted these threats from modern, isolated disasters into constant contemporary risks.

This second edition presents four new chapters about disaster-as-risk from; climate change, the natural elements of earth, air, wind, and fire; the COVID-19 and other pandemics; and innocent victims and refugees. Now more than ever, we need good and just moral principles to guide us through the disruptive crises ahead––especially for minorities. Humanism and humanitarianism are vital. Zack combines moral philosophy, political theory, public policy, and environmental science to present new ways to think about changes in the world we all share.

Genres: Philosophy

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2009

About the author

Naomi Zack is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon. She is a prolific author, having published seven books in addition to a large number of papers and contributed chapters in feminist ethics, particularly in areas having to deal with race or disaster.

Reviews

[Judd Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zack's book is relatively unique: an ethics textbook focused explicitly on disasters. The focus results in a concise and relevant textbook that's better than peripheral offerings (e.g., public health ethics) for teaching emergency management ethics. That said, the book struggles with being somewhat American-centric, a little too dense, and a little too pronouncing (vs exploratory) in opening up issues for discussion. I'm curious to see how the book will work in an undergraduate classroom - I'm confident it's the best current alternative on the table, but I'm not sure it's the best possible.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A required text for my disaster ethics course. It was an informative and brief read.