Morality's Progress

Morality's Progress is the summation of nearly three decades of work by Dale Jamieson, a leading figure in environmental ethics and bioethics. The twenty-two papers here are invigoratingly diverse, but together tell a unified story about various aspects of the morality of our relationships to animals and to nature.The volume begins by addressing the possibility of moral progress and the value of practical ethics. It then moves on to discuss the nature of animal minds, and our moral duties with respect to animals; it concludes with essays that address larger environmental questions. Considered as a whole, Morality's Progress is an attempt to draw out the moral consequences of a thoroughgoing Darwinian Naturalism. The perspective that informs this work is philosophically naturalist, morallyconsequentialist, and metaethically constructivist. Jamieson's essays will convince sceptics that thinking about our moral relations to animals and nature can offer great intellectual reward, and his work here sets a challenging, controversial agenda for the future.

Jamieson's style of philosophising combines common-sense thinking and rigid philosophical analysis and is scientifically informed. He articulates interesting links between different thinkers. Moreover, he does not merely focus on fascinating theoretical questions but also analyses key concepts (sustainability, ecosystem health, value) in environmental discourse, investigates important case studies (zoos, animal experimentation, global warming, biotechnology) and formulates considered value judgements. As a result his philosophical essays are exceptionally accessible to and interesting for philosophers and non-philosophers alike. In brief, what one may expect of environmental ethics at its best., Jamieson's book challenges both the philosopher and the non-philosopher to explore what is involved in a consistent set of beliefs about how humans relate to animals and nature. He often shows that this consistency takes us to conclusions that many of us will be uncomfortable with ... All of his articles, two of which he has co-authored with Marc Bekoff and one with Tom Regan, exhibit a commendable clarity of writing, close argumentation and an accessible style ... Whether or not we fully agree with him on what constitutes moralitys progress, his book certainly constitutes progress in our understanding of morality.

Dale Jamieson is Henry R. Luce Professor in Human Dimensions of Global Change at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.