Earthbound: Introductory Essays in Environmental Essays

by Tom Regan (Editor)

This important anthology consists of original essays that explore issues in environmental ethics. Some of the essays focus mainly on the interplay between the environment and the interests of today's population while others place considerable importance on our environmental policies and our obligations to generations yet unborn. Some deal mainly with the environmental ties that bind us to the members of our own community whereas others discuss environmental questions against the backdrop of our duties to people who live in distant nations. Still others inquire into the moral status of the nonhuman denizens of the earth, both animals and plants; indeed, sometimes it is the earth itself whose moral status is the object of inquiry. In short, the essays clearly examine a rich variety of concerns about the environment.

371 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

Tom Regan was an American philosopher who specialized in animal rights theory. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University, where he taught from 1967 until his retirement in 2001.

Regan was the author of numerous books on the philosophy of animal rights, including The Case for Animal Rights (1983), one of a handful of studies that have significantly influenced the modern animal rights movement. In these, he argued that non-human animals are what he calls the "subjects-of-a-life", just as humans are, and that, if we want to ascribe value to all human beings regardless of their ability to be rational agents, then to be consistent, we must similarly ascribe it to non-humans.