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  1. Island Biogeography and the Multiple Domains of Models.Sismondo Sergio - 2000 - Biology and Philosophy 15 (2):239-258.
    This paper adopts a symmetrical approach tocontroversies over R.H. MacArthur and E.O. Wilson'sequilibrium model of island biogeography, in order toshow how different interpretations of the model dependupon different philosophical understandings of theapplication of models and theories. In particular,there are quite distinct domains to which the modelcould apply; in addition, some equivocation amongthese domains is important to the model's success.Therefore, apparently inconsistent interpretations,interpretations that fit into roughly instrumentalist,realist and rationalist conceptions of science, may bemutually supporting in practice. Descriptions ofscientific practice, then, (...)
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  • The Land Ethic and the Significance of the Fascist Objection.Håkan Salwén - 2014 - Ethics, Policy and Environment 17 (2):192-207.
    Aldo Leopold, the modern father of ethical holism, embraced the moral principle that the deontic status of an action is determined by its effect on the integrity, stability, and beauty of the bioti...
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  • Ecological Stability, Model Building, and Environmental Policy: A Reply to Some of the Pessimism.Jay Odenbaugh - 2001 - Philosophy of Science 68 (3):493-505.
    Recently, there has been a rise in pessimism concerning what theoretical ecology can offer conservation biologists in the formation of reasonable environmental policies. In this paper, I look at one of the pessimistic arguments offered by Kristin Shrader-Frechette and E. D. McCoy -the argument from conceptual imprecision. I suggest that their argument rests on an inadequate account of the concepts of ecological stability and that there has been conceptual progress with respect to complexity-stability hypotheses. Such progress, I maintain, can supply (...)
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  • Why not interfere with nature?Mark A. Michael - 2002 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 5 (1):89-112.
    Advocates of an environmental ethic frequently claim that what makes an ethical theory truly and uniquely environmental is its commitment to the principle that environmental wholes such as species, ecosystems, and biotic communities are morally considerable. The prevailing view is that our primary duty towards these wholes is to respect their integrity, stability, and beauty, and that the best way to do this is to leave them alone, not interfere with them, and let nature follow its own course. But is (...)
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  • In Defence of Bad Science and Irrational Policies: an Alternative Account of the Precautionary Principle.Stephen John - 2010 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 13 (1):3-18.
    In the first part of the paper, three objections to the precautionary principle are outlined: the principle requires some account of how to balance risks of significant harms; the principle focuses on action and ignores the costs of inaction; and the principle threatens epistemic anarchy. I argue that these objections may overlook two distinctive features of precautionary thought: a suspicion of the value of “full scientific certainty”; and a desire to distinguish environmental doings from allowings. In Section 2, I argue (...)
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