Conserving Natural Value

by Holmes Rolston III

An eloquent introduction to the ethical and philosophical values at stake in biological conservation, this book familiarizes readers with the general issues and possible solutions to the problems societies face in simultaneously conserving nature and promoting culture.

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Holmes Rolston III was an American philosopher who was University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. He is best known for his contributions to environmental ethics and the relationship between science and religion. Among other honors, Rolston won the 2003 Templeton Prize, awarded by Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace. He gave the Gifford Lectures, University of Edinburgh, 1997–1998. He also served on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
The Darwinian model is used to define the main thematic concepts in Rolston's philosophy and, in greater depth, the general trend of his thinking.

Reviews

[Ron Christiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rolston defines environmentalism much more broadly than we ever see in the media and more broadly than most environmentalists themselves. He insists we should conserve natural value in the broadest possible sense--for example he says biological conservation began 3.5 billion years ago.

He ends the book on a moving passage:

"Feel the ground under your feet, hear the water...feel the wind...Feel your biology within and think back across the millennia. Know that you are standing in the midst of planetary circulations that are far more real, far more vital, and almost everlasting compared with the national citizenship that you hold...and we all owe that Earth system far more than we owe obedience to the civic laws, the national history, or even the heritage of our cultural system."

Now that's a big idea.

***

I have a clear memory of driving to Salt Lake with my English prof father-in-law who is now physically ill and mentally unstable in order to hear Ralston speak at SLCC where I work. Suddenly I like the idea of re-imagining that day now in the context of what Ralston says about our planetary circulations. For me imaging my ailing father-in-law as part of a larger biological heritage is one of the few ways to bring peace, to find meaning in his suffering and the ultimate unfairness in his decline.