The author offers an account of the changes in philosophy from Plato to the present. He argues that, since Hegel, historicst thought has been... developing the notion of a culture which would be 'post-philosophical" - in the sense that there would be no presiding discipline which synthesized or ordered the results of other spheres of activity. Rorty takes issue with the presuppositions of Anglo-American analytic philosophy and presents an alternate view of the role of philosophy in culture. --From back of dust jacket.

This volume presents papers discussing arguments on both sides of the consequentialist debate. The distinguished contributors include John Rawls,... Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, Derek Parfit, among others.

Consequentialism collects, for the first time, both the main classical sources and the central contemporary expressions of this important position.... Edited and introduced by Stephen Darwall, these readings are essential for anyone interested in normative ethics.Edited and introduced by Stephen Darwall, examines key topics in the consequentialist branch of moral theory.Includes seven essays which respond to the classic sources.Includes an insightful discussion of central topics in consequentialism by John Rawls and Amartya Sen.Includes classic articles by key figures such Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick and G. E. Moore; and recent reactions to this work by philosophers including Philip Pettit, Derek Parfit, Samuel Scheffler, Peter Railton, R. B. Brandt, J. C. Harsanyi, and Robert Adams.

Land trusts, or conservancies, protect land by owning it. Although many people are aware of a few large land trusts--The Nature Conservancy and the... Trust for Public Land, for instance--there are now close to 1,300 local trusts, with more coming into being each month.American land trusts are diverse, shaped by their missions and adapted to their local environments. Nonetheless, all land trusts are private, non-profit organizations for which the acquisition and protection of land by direct action is the primary or sole mission. Nonconfrontational and apolitical, land trusts work with willing land owners in voluntary transactions. Although land trusts are the fastest-growing and most vital part of the land conservation movement today, this model of saving land by private action has become dominant only in the past two decades. Brewer tells why the advocacy model--in which private groups try to protect land by promoting government purchase or regulation-- in the 1980s was eclipsed by the burgeoning land trust movement. He gives the public a much-needed primer on what land trusts are, what they do, how they are related to one another and to other elements of the conservation and environmental movements, and their importance to conservation in the coming decades. As Brewer points out, unlike other land-saving measures, land trust accomplishments are permanent. At the end of a cooperative process between a landowner and the local land trust, the land is saved in perpetuity. Brewer's book, the first comprehensive treatment of land trusts, combines a historical overview of the movement with more specific information on the different kinds of land trusts that exist and the problems they face. The volume also offers a "how-to" approach for persons and institutions interested in donating, selling, or buying land, discusses four major national land trusts (The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, American Farmland Trust, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy); and gives a generous sampling of information about the activities and accomplishments of smaller, local trusts nationwide. Throughout, the book is enriched by historical narrative, analysis of successful land trusts, and information on the how and why of protecting land, as well as Brewer's intimate knowledge of ecological systems, biodiversity, and the interconnectedness of human and non-human life forms. Conservancy is a must-read volume for people interested in land conservation--including land trust members, volunteers and supporters--as well as anyone concerned about land use and the environment.

This book makes current issues in political ecology and the question of globalization accessible to undergraduate students, as well as to non-academic... readers. It is also empirically and theoretically rigorous enough to appeal to an academic audience. CONSERVATION AND GLOBALIZATION opens with a discussion of these two broad issues as they relate to the author's fieldwork with Maasai herding communities on the margins of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. It explores different theoretical perspectives (Neo-Marxist and Foucauldian) on globalization and why both are relevant to the case studies presented. Students are introduced to the practice of multi-sited ethnography and its centrality to the anthropological study of globalization. While drawing on examples from specific Maasai communities, the book is more broadly concerned with the historical and contemporary links between these communities and a global system of institutions, ideas, and money. The ecological incompatibility of Western national park-style conservation with East African savanna ecosystems and Maasai resource management practices, are highlighted. The concept of national parks is traced temporally and geographically from Maasai communities to the enclosure movement in 18th century England and westward expansion in 19th century North America. The relationships of parks to Judeo-Christian assumptions about "man's place in nature," colonial ideologies like Manifest Destiny and the Civilizing Mission, and capitalist notions of private property and "The Tragedy of the Commons," are explored. The book also looks at the latest conservation paradigm of "Community-Based Conservation," and explores its connections to the Soviet Collapse, economic and political liberalization, and the global proliferation of NGOs.

Conservation and the Genetics of Populations gives a comprehensive overview of the essential background, concepts, and tools needed to understand how... genetic information can be used to develop conservation plans for species threatened with extinction.Provides a thorough understanding of the genetic basis of biological problems in conservation.Uses a balance of data and theory, and basic and applied research, with examples taken from both the animal and plant kingdoms.An associated website contains example data sets and software programs to illustrate population genetic processes and methods of data analysis.Discussion questions and problems are included at the end of each chapter to aid understanding.Features Guest Boxes written by leading people in the field including James F. Crow, Nancy FitzSimmons, Robert C. Lacy, Michael W. Nachman, Michael E. Soule, Andrea Taylor, Loren H. Rieseberg, R.C. Vrijenhoek, Lisette Waits, Robin S. Waples and Andrew Young.Supplementary information designed to support Conservation and the Genetics of Populations including:Downloadable sample chapterAnswers to questions and problemsData sets illustrating problems from the bookData analysis software programsWebsite linksAn Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Please contact our Higher Education team at HigherEducation@wiley.com for more information.

The relevance and importance of Samuel P. Hay's book, Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency, has only increased over time. Written almost half a... century ago, it offers an invaluable history of the conservation movement's origins, and provides an excellent context for understanding contemporary enviromental problems and possible solutions. Against a background of rivers, forests, ranges, and public lands, this book defines two conflicting political processes: the demand for an integrated, controlled development guided by an elite group of scientists and technicians and the demand for a looser system allowing grassroots impulses to have a voice through elected government representatives.

The Earth’s ecosystems are in the midst of an unprecedented period of change as a result of human action. Many habitats have been completely destroyed... or divided into tiny fragments, others have been transformed through the introduction of new species, or the extinction of native plants and animals, while anthropogenic climate change now threatens to completely redraw the geographic map of life on this planet. The urgent need to understand and prescribe solutions to this complicated and interlinked set of pressing conservation issues has lead to the transformation of the venerable academic discipline of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants. The newly emerged sub-discipline of conservation biogeography uses the conceptual tools and methods of biogeography to address real world conservation problems and to provide predictions about the fate of key species and ecosystems over the next century. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the field in a series of closely interlinked chapters addressing the central issues within this exciting and important subject. View www.wiley.com/go/ladle/biogeography yo access the figures from the book. 

Fred Van Dyke’s new textbook, Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 2nd Edition, represents a major new text for anyone... interested in conservation. Drawing on his vast experience, Van Dyke’s organizational clarity and readable style make this book an invaluable resource for students in conservation around the globe. Presenting key information and well-selected examples, this student-friendly volume carefully integrates the science of conservation biology with its implications for ethics, law, policy and economics.

Written in accessible, nontechnical language, this book's twenty-three essays provide invaluable conservation guidelines for a variety of materials and... media. Focusing also on proper storage techniques and environmental control, contributors offer information on emergency planning, disaster management, and identifying damages that may require professional treatment.

In most communities, land use regulations are based on a limited model that allows for only one end result: the production of more and more suburbia,... composed of endless subdivisions and shopping centers, that ultimately covers every bit of countryside with "improvements." Fortunately, sensible alternatives to this approach do exist, and methods of developing land while at the same time conserving natural areas are available.In Conservation Design for Subdivisions, Randall G. Arendt explores better ways of designing new residential developments than we have typically seen in our communities. He presents a practical handbook for residential developers, site designers, local officials, and landowners that explains how to implement new ideas about land-use planning and environmental protection. Abundantly illustrated with site plans (many of them in color), floor plans, photographs, and renditions of houses and landscapes, it describes a series of simple and straightforward techniques that allows for land-conserving development.The author proposes a step-by-step approach to conserving natural areas by rearranging density on each development parcel as it is being planned so that only half (or less) of the buildable land is turned into houselots and streets. Homes are built in a less land-consumptive manner that allows the balance of property to be permanently protected and added to an interconnected network of green spaces and green corridors. Included in the volume are model zoning and subdivision ordinance provisions that can help citizens and local officials implement these innovative design ideas.

The conservation of biological diversity depends on people's knowledge and actions. This book presents the theory and practice for creating effective... education and outreach programs for conservation. Jacobson, McDuff, and Monroe describe an exciting array of techniques for enhancing school resources, marketing environmental messages, using mass media, developing partnerships for conservation, and designing on-site programs for natural areas and community centers. Vivid case studies from around the world illustrate techniques and describe planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures, enabling readers to implement their own new ideas effectively. Conservation Education and Outreach includes twelve chapters illustrated with numerous photographs showing education and outreach programs in action, each incorporating an extensive bibliography. Helpful text boxes provide practical tips, guidelines, and recommendations for further exploration of the chapter topics. This book will be particularly relevant to conservation scientists, resource managers, environmental educators, students, and citizen activists. It will also serve as a handy reference and a comprehensive text for a variety of natural resource and environmental professionals.

In hundreds of watersheds and communities across the United States, conservation is being reinvented and invigorated by collaborative efforts between... federal, state, and local governments working with nongovernmental organizations and private landowners, and fueled by economic incentives, to promote both healthy natural communities and healthy human communities. Conservation for a New Generation captures those efforts with chapters that explain the new landscape of conservation along with case studies that illustrate these new approaches. The book brings together leading voices in the field of environmental conservation—Lynne Sherrod, Curt Meine, Daniel Kemmis, Luther Propst, Jodi Hilty, Peter Forbes, and many others—to offer fourteen chapters and twelve case studies that • demonstrate the benefits of government agencies partnering with diverse stakeholders;• explore how natural resources management is evolving;• discuss emerging practices for conservation, including conservation planning, ecological restoration, valuing ecosystem services, and using economic incentives;• promote cooperation on natural resources issues that have in the past been divisive. Throughout, contributors focus on the fundamental truth that unites human and land communities: as one prospers, so does the other; as one declines, so too will the other. The book illustrates how natural resources management that emphasizes building strong relationships results in outcomes that are beneficial to both people and land.

Genome sequencing enables scientists to study genes over time and to test the genetic variability of any form of life, from bacteria to mammals. Thanks... to advances in molecular genetics, scientists can now determine an animal's degree of inbreeding or compare genetic variation of a captive species to wild or natural populations. Mapping an organism's genetic makeup recasts such terms as biodiversity and species and enables the conservation of rare or threatened species, populations, and genes. By introducing a new paradigm for studying and preserving life at a variety of levels, genomics offers solutions to previously intractable problems in understanding the biology of complex organisms and creates new tools for preserving the patterns and processes of life on this planet. Featuring a number of high-profile researchers, this volume introduces the use of molecular genetics in conservation biology and provides a historical perspective on the opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies. It discusses zoo-, museum-, and herbarium-based biological collections, which have expanded over the past decade, and covers the promises and problems of genomic and reproductive technology. The collection concludes with the philosophical and legal issues of conservation genetics and their potential effects on public policy.

Showing how GIS and geography provide a framework for ecology and conservation efforts, this book describes how new technological tools for that kind of... analysis, chief among them GIS, are being used to revolutionize the work of conservation.