Environmental Ethics

Volume 32, Issue 1, Spring 2010

Of Geese and Eggs
In What Sense Should We Value Nature as a System?

In Conserving Natural Value, Holmes Rolston, III explores the question of why we should value nature as a system and illustrates the view he advocates with the story of the goose who lays golden eggs. The basic idea is that if we value the eggs, we should value the goose. By assuming that Rolston’s fundamental point about the value of nature as a system is war­ranted, it is possible to extend his line of inquiry by arguing that this evocative metaphor actually captures a number of distinct views, and that it is important both conceptually and practically to distinguish these different possibilities as we contemplate and defend the values of the natural world.