ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers plant ethics from a utilitarian point of view. According to utilitarianism, a plant ethics must be indirect and derivative from animal and human ethics. The book argues that plants have inherent worth: that they have interests that moral agents ought to care about for the sake of plants themselves. It considers two concepts that may prove central to plants ethics: flourishing and dignity. The book discusses a concept that has made its way through legislation in a number of German-speaking countries and propels an attempt to give legal status and recognition to plants: the Kantian concept of dignity. It explores relational approaches to plant ethics. The book argues that utopian thinking, often thought to be bankrupt or even dead these days, is in fact very much alive particularly with respect to ecological questions.
