BOOK REVIEW

E T H I C S  A N D  N A T U R E  BY M A R I E 

S K Y B O V Á

Key words: anthropocentrism, nature, ethics, environment, speciesism

Each day all of us are more and more confronted with the negative results of an anthropocentric approach to life, yet the debate over to which extent we should care for the environment perseveres. While many of us can naturally identify with what Albert Schweitzer described as Reverence for life, others might struggle to step outside the deep-rooted speciesism.

Marie Skýbová’s book Etika a příroda (Ethics and Nature) looks for the arguments for moral consideration of nature in the writings of several renowned philosophers, beginning with the description of the current state of the environment and obvious, economic, and human life-preserving reasons to protect non-human animals and entities.

Before getting to selected authors, Skýbová briefly discusses the relationship between ethics and value, including different value categories and processes behind their creation, which might then help to better understand why Peter Singer acknowledges certain mammal’s ability to suffer, while Tom Regan opposes him by declaring the intrinsic value of the animal itself. Paul W. Taylor’s biocentrism then goes even further by rationalizing Schweitzer’s intuitive theory of inner good, which easily evolves into Holmes Rolston’s III. considerations of Nature being worthy as a whole.

While the final chapter focuses on doubts within a valuing system itself, Skýbová’s book still offers a wide range of helpful arguments for why we should treat non-human life respectfully, taking into account more reasons than just our own gain.