The Environment Between Theory and Practice

Avner de-Shalit Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Associate Fellow of Oxford Centre for Philosophy and the Environment, Mansfield, College, University of Oxford.

• Introduction ; PART I: WHY HASN'T ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY HAD AN IMPACT ON POLICIES? ; 1. The social role of the philosopher and the philosophical role of society ; 2. Where philosophy meets politics: the concept of the environment ; PART II: PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT: FROM META-ETHICS TO POLITICAL THEORY ; 3. Is liberalism environment friendly? ; 4. The community of nature and the nature of community ; 5. Democracy and the environment: a radical theory of participation ; 6. Socialism and the environment. ; Summary: from theory to practice

de-Shalit's ideas are sure to generate discussion on the practical necessities of applying the theory environmental philosophers produce, on sharpening our use of concepts, and on understanding the political requirements of the philosophical ideas that make up the backdrop of the environmental movement. Largely because of its ability to provoke this type of discussion, but also because of its timely consideration of how environmental philosophy and environmental politics and policy can and ought to be bridged, I recommend this book for use not only by environmental and political theorists, environmental activists, but also for use in lower and upper level university courses in environmental studies, environmental ethics, environmental policy and environmenal politics.