Justus James, Colyvan Mark, Regan Helen, Maguire Lynn
Philosophy Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2009 Apr;24(4):187-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.11.011. Epub 2009 Feb 27.
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.
许多保护生物学家认为，保护自然实体的最佳伦理基础是其所谓的内在价值，而非对人类的工具价值。但对于什么是内在价值以及它如何能够指导保护决策，存在着很大的困惑。在审视了内在价值应为何物之后，我们认为它无法指导保护工作所需的决策。保护工作需要一个适当的伦理基础来做到这一点，而工具价值在这方面做得最好。
