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Research article2021Peer reviewed

Biocentric individualism and biodiversity conservation: An argument from parsimony

Baard, Patrik

Abstract

This article argues that holistic ecocentrism unnecessarily introduces elements to explain why we ought to halt biodiversity loss. I suggest that atomistic accounts can justify the same conclusion by utilising fewer elements. Hence, why we ought to preserve biodiversity can be made reasonable without adding elements such as intrinsic values of ecosystems or moral obligations to conserve collectives of organisms. Between two equally good explanations of the same phenomenon, the explanation utilising fewer elements, which speaks in favour of atomistic accounts, will be the better one.

Keywords

Biodiversity; biocentrism; ecocentrism; Ockham's razor

Published in

Environmental Values
2021, Volume: 30, number: 1, pages: 93-110

    Associated SLU-program

    SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG15 Life on land

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Ethics

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3197/096327120X15752810324048

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/106532