ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that philosophy has a role to play in the design of environmental policies, for the nature and justification of values is an important issue, and this is a philosophical subject. Philosophy examines the nature of values and how they connect to reasons for action. Everyone will agree that environmental values are at the heart of many policy conflicts and are crucial to environmental risk management. The holistic perspective of the land ethic is suggested as a complement or antidote to the individualistic methodologies that have dominated much of moral philosophy in the past. One might support greater public participation in environmental policy making by appealing to democratic principles. Many policy makers and analysts seem to be skeptical about the objectivity of moral values, but they support greater public participation on grounds of democratic principles.
