Buying into conservation: intrinsic versus instrumental value.
Many conservation biologists believe the best ethical basis for conserving natural entities is their claimed intrinsic value, not their instrumental value for humans. But there is significant confusion about what intrinsic value is and how it could govern conservation decision making. After examining what intrinsic value is supposed to be, we argue that it cannot guide the decision making conservation requires. An adequate ethical basis for conservation must do this, and instrumental value does it best.
Justus
James
J
Philosophy Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. jjustus@fsu.edu
Colyvan
Mark
M
Regan
Helen
H
Maguire
Lynn
L
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003657:Decision Making; D004989:Ethics