From Leopold's “Land Ethic” to Ecological Hubris

Abstract

Research Article| April 01 2019 From Leopold's “Land Ethic” to Ecological Hubris Departmental Editor: Douglas Allchin Douglas Allchin Departmental Editor DOUGLAS ALLCHIN is a historian and philosopher of science and science educator. He is author of Teaching the Nature of Science: Perspectives and Resources (2013) and Sacred Bovines: The Ironies of Misplaced Assumptions in Biology (2017), based on essays from this column. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (2019) 81 (4): 291–293. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2019.81.4.291 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Douglas Allchin; From Leopold's “Land Ethic” to Ecological Hubris. The American Biology Teacher 1 April 2019; 81 (4): 291–293. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2019.81.4.291 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search Why preserve wilderness? How is such a value justified? Many people – including many biology teachers, I think – regard ecological facts as the ultimate foundation. But does this mean that scientific inquiry can yield ethics, as well as knowledge? Here, I explore this important question about the nature and limits of science by focusing on Aldo Leopold's popular idea of a land ethic. Leopold first earned renown in wildlife management in the 1910s through the 1930s. Later, he eloquently expressed his appreciation of nature in his now classic Sand County Almanac. For example, in describing four seasons on a farm in Wisconsin, he gave deep meaning to ordinary experience. He suggested that the idea that heat comes from a furnace betrays a significant misunderstanding: He lamented, too, the supposition that food comes from a grocery store rather than from tilling the soil. He contrasted orienting one's perspective to... You do not currently have access to this content.