In this book on nature and social thought, the author seeks to understand decision-making and its legitimation in our social world against the background of an evolving sensibility about nature. Given the finite scope of our natural resources, and our infinite capacity as decision-makers to use nature, we are compelled to formulate some of the issues that underlie our transactions with nature. This will be useful for students and scholars in philosophy and psychology departments, decision and management sciences, business and law schools, environmentalists and policymakers. Contents: Consequences of Uncertainty; Moral Perspective; Inquiry and the Origins of Human Rights; Equity Decisions; Economic Development and Environmental Prudence; Changing Landscapes; Decisions, Values and Progress.

Jay Schulkin is Chief of the Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, Clinical Neuendocrinology Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland.