ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the proposal that rely on selfishness, as well as the suggestion that we need to develop a new theory of environmental ethics, to stem the tide of degrading anthropogenic change in our natural environment. It proposes that we reconsider actually existing morality, how any being becomes recognized as morally significant, and the effectiveness of environmental morality. The chapter discusses the development of morality and, in particular, of environmental morality, and the importance of ways of knowing in this context. It argues that, ultimately, this means that we need to develop ways of recognizing the autonomy of nature. It concludes that environmental morality based on the recognition of the autonomy of nature may play a fundamental role in the development of a more appropriate cohabitation between human beings and the rest of nature.
