REVIEWS 223
The second, and I would say main, section of the book is the original
treatment of varieties of ethical stances on the value of the earth based on
their depth and reach: Light Green or Shallow (Anthropocentric) Ethics
(chapter 6), Mid-Green or Intermediate Ethics (7), and Dark Green or Deep
(Ecocentric) Ethics (8). He does a good job of making the case that the vari-
ous well known approaches to environmental ethics belong in each category,
and though not non-partisan he recognizes the strengths as well as the weak-
nesses of each approach. It is no accident that the number of pages devoted
to each are nine, twenty, and thirty-four. Though the three chapters cover
only sixth-three of the book’s 271 pages, these chapters represent Curry’s
alternative to the usual extensionalist progression of topics (anthropocentric
to animal to biocentric to . . .).
But even mention of the lopsided division of pages devoted to the three
kinds of environmentalism is misleading: though the remaining chapters are
mostly focused on environmental politics, it is fair to say that all of these
chapters grow out of and further develop Curry’s commitment to a deep
green or ecocentric orientation and politics. These include chapters devoted
to ecofeminism (9), varieties of ecocentric spiritual and religious traditions
(10), and a defense of Pragmatism (11), along with chapters devoted to ap-
plications of theory broadly to, e.g., Green Citizenship and Education (12),
Human Overpopulation (14), and more narrowly to thirteen “grounding”
topics such as the food system and climate change (13).
Chapter 15 is a five-page postscript in which Curry pulls together the text’s
interwoven themes: we are in the midst of an ecocrisis including but not limited
to climate change. A nonhuman nature won’t flourish if it is allowed to do so
within the narrow range of ways that suit us alone. So that in turn requires us
to respect and love nature, and recognize its intrinsic value as a whole (267).
Is it feasible? We can’t know, but we have every reason to believe that con-
tinuing on the anthropocentric path will lead to disaster, and not just for us.
Katheryn Doran, Department of Philosophy, Hamilton College, Clinton NY 13323;
kdoran@hamilton.edu
Free Will
Joseph Keim Campbell
Malden, Mass.: Polity Press, 2011, 136 pp., $19.95 pbk. ISBN: 978-0-7456-4667-1
ROBERT GRESSIS
Free will is a tough topic to introduce. First, there is a disconnect between the
interestingness of the topic and the complexity in the way it is treated: many bud-
ding philosophy majors want to discuss it, but any adequate treatment of it will
quickly involve numerous, subtle distinctions that could possibly turn them off.
Second, there is just so much ground to cover: almost all the greatest philosophers
© Teaching Philosophy, 2012. All rights reserved. 0145-5788 pp. 223–226
DOI: 10.5840/teachphil201235222