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Kant and Environmental Philosophy starts with problems of the Anthropocene and looks to Immanuel Kant for answers. It offers a close reading of Kant's texts, arguing that the views we find in his ethical, political, and aesthetic theory are helpful for making sense of ecological challenges like climate change. The book clarifies our duties regarding climate extinction, geoengineering, consumerism, and future generations. It provides insights and solutions for obstacles to sustainability, including corruption and the possibility of civil collapse. In environmental philosophy, historical commentators mine familiar philosophers for insights to these problems, but Kant is often seen as an anthropocentric and dualistic individualist in a world dominated by consequentialist thinking, and accordingly he is overlooked as relevant for environmental philosophy. This book challenges that conclusion, and its comprehensive examination of Kant's texts provides lessons for environmental philosophy and climate ethics at a time when a fresh perspective is desperately needed.
List of contents
Introduction: warming up to Kant; 1. Kant's invidious humanism: a critical look, forty years later; 2. Is a Kantian environmental ethic coherent?; 3. Zooming out with Kant's natural philosophy; 4. Critical aesthetics and protectionism; 5. Kantian ethics and sustainability; 6. What is the human being in the anthropocene?; 7. Public policy and cooperation; Conclusion: The green Kant revisited; References.
About the author
Zachary Vereb is Assistant Professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi. His work has been published in journals including Environmental Ethics, Environmental Philosophy, and Kantian Review.
