title: Buying into conservation: intrinsic versus instrumental value.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Philosophy Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. jjustus@fsu.edu
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Justus
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colyvan
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maguire
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003657:Decision Making; D004989:Ethics