Environmental philosophy is a large subject that involves epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, and history of philosophy, as well as such obviously normative areas as ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy. The main focus of this book is environmental ethics, but I discuss the normative dimensions of the subject generally, including issues in aesthetics and political philosophy. My hope is that this book will be used in classes in environmental philosophy, but I also hope that it finds a wider audience in courses in ethics proper or in environmental studies. In addition, I hope that it will be read by philosophers, environmental scientists, environmental policy specialists, and others who simply want a reliable and relatively sophisticated introduction to the field.

Over the past twenty-five years I have taught courses on environmental philosophy to thousands of students at six different colleges and universities on three continents. Ultimately, this book is the product of these courses. More proximately, it is based on lectures that I gave at Princeton University in spring, 2005. It is a pleasure to thank Princeton, and particularly the University Center for Human Values, for inviting me to spend the academic year 2004–5 as Laurence R. Rockefeller Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching. I am especially grateful for the personal warmth and intellectual vigor of my colleagues, both in the Center and in the Princeton Environmental Institute. I expanded and rewrote the lectures the following summer while living in France.