In Nature's Interests? Interests, Animal Rights, and Environmental Ethics

This book offers a powerful response to what Varner calls the "two dogmasof environmentalism"--the assumptions that animal rights philosophies andanthropocentric views are each antithetical to sound environmental policy.Allowing that every living organism has interests which ought, other thingsbeing equal, to be protected, Varner contends that some interests take priorityover others. He defends both a sentientist principle giving priority to thelives of organisms with conscious desires and an anthropocentric principlegiving priority to certain very inclusive interests which only humans have. Hethen shows that these principles not only comport with but provide significantsupport for environmental goals.