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Catastrophe Ethics

ISBN 9780715655634 Published 16 January 2025
£10.99

Philosopher Travis Rieder outlines a new ethics for the age of humanmade catastrophe. We are all asking, in a hyperglobalised world hurtling towards environmental destruction: how do we determine the right actions? Do our individual efforts to avoid plastic or air travel, or to drive electric, make any real difference?

We urgently need to expand our ethical toolkit. The mental tools most of us rely on to ‘do the right thing’ just don’t work when it comes to reasoning about large collective problems. From the small stuff like single-use plastics to major decisions like whether to have children, Rieder defines exactly how we can change our thinking and lead a decent, meaningful life in a scary, complicated world.

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Pre-order: charged now, published 16 January 2025. Print is despatched on publication; ebooks are ready to download that morning.

Pre-order: charged now, published 7 March 2024. Print is despatched on publication; ebooks are ready to download that morning.

Pre-order: charged now, published 7 March 2024. Print is despatched on publication; ebooks are ready to download that morning.

Book details
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780715655634
Published
16 January 2025
Pages
336
Dimensions
129 x 198 mm
Imprint
Duckworth

Reviews

'Smart, splendid, and brave. A crash course in ethics from an expert philosopher that gave me hope for the future. A must-read for anyone who cares about doing good in the world' 

Anna Lembke, New York Times-bestselling author of Dopamine Nation

'With an open mind and a firm grasp of the issues, Rieder brings the question of living a decent life into the modern era'

Kirkus

'Eloquent, incisive and highly engaging, Catastrophe Ethics is an indispensable exploration of the choices we can make in a complex and challenging time'

Ben Goldsmith, environmentalist and financier

'A fascinating and thought-provoking guide to navigating the ethics of the climate crisis' 

 Siddarth Shrikanth, author of The Case for Nature

'If you want to be hopeful about whether an individual can act morally in a world where individuals don't seem to make much of a difference, this is the book for you' 

Barry Lam, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, and presenter of the Hi-Phi Nation podcast

'An excellent resource for the environmentally conscious weighing their life's choices'

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

About the author

Travis Rieder

Travis Rieder is an associate professor of Philosophy and Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. His first book In Pain was named an NPR Best Book of 2019 and his TED Talk on the same topic has been viewed 2.8 million times. He has written for Psychology Today and the New York Times. Catastrophe Ethics is his second book. 

Everything by Travis Rieder

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