Michael P. Nelson

Michael P. Nelson is a writer, teacher, speaker, consultant, and professor of environmental philosophy and ethics currently teaching at Michigan State University where he holds a joint appointment in the Lyman Briggs College, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Department of Philosophy. Nelson is also the philosopher in residence of the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project. He earned his M.A. at Michigan State University before going on to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy at Lancaster University in England.^[1] He taught at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1993-2004 and the University of Idaho from 2005-2007 before joining MSU where he teaches courses on environmental philosophy, philosophy of ecology, and conservation biology.

Contributions

Nelson's work primarily focuses on environmental philosophy and ethics, philosophy of ecology, conservation biology, wildlife ecology and ethics/metaethics, American Indian environmental thought, applied philosophy, and wilderness philosophy^[2] He is the co-founder and co-director of the Conservation Ethics Group, an award-winning environmental ethics consultancy group fusing ethics with social and ecological science, and is the author of many articles and a number of books (listed below) in the area of environmental ethics.

Publications

Nelson authored several books including Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril,^[3] The Wilderness Debate Rages On,^[4] The Great New Wilderness Debate ^[5] and American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study. ^[6] Nelson has also published numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals such as The Journal of Environmental Education, ^[7] The Journal of the Center for Humans and Nature, ^[8] The Chronicle of Higher Education ^[9] Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment ^[10] BioScience, ^[11] Conservation Biology, ^[12] Environmental Ethics^[13] Biological Conservation,^[14] Conservation Biology,^[15] and The Ecologist. ^[16]

Awards and distinctions

Nelson was awarded the University Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Wisconsin in 2002 and the Teacher/Scholar in Residence Award from the University of Wisconsin in 2001.^[17] His book, Moral Ground, won two 2010 ForeWord Reviews book awards - the Gold Medal for Anthology, and the Bronze Medal for Environment.

Selected works

• Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril eds Michael Nelson and Kathleen Dean Moore. Trinity University Press: 2010.
• The Wilderness Debate Rages On. eds Nelson, Michael P., and J. Baird Callicott. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press: 2008
• J. Baird Callicott and Michael P. Nelson. American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study Prentice-Hall: 2004.
• The Great New Wilderness Debate eds J. Baird Callicott and Michael P. Nelson. University of Georgia Press: 1998.
• The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: Inadequate History, Inadequate Ethics (with John A. Vucetich, Paul Paquet, and Joseph Bump) in The Wildlife Professional, Summer 2011, 5/2, 58-60.
• Forming a Philosophy of Environmental Action: Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and the Importance of Community (with Lissy Goralnik) in The Journal of Environmental Education 42(3): 181-92.
• The Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project (1958-present) and the Wonder of Long-Term Ecological Research (with John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson, and Leah Vucetich) in Endeavour, March 2011, 35(1), pp. 30-38.
• Toward a Global Consensus for Ethical Action (with Kathleen Dean Moore) in The Leopold Outlook: a publication of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Vol. 11, Issue 1, Winter 2011, pp. 5-9
• The Perfect Moral Storm, When the Life Rafts are on Fire (with Kathleen Dean Moore) in Minding Nature: A Journal of the Center for Humans and Nature, December 2010, 3(3), pp. 6-11.
• To a Future without Hope in Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, eds, Trinity University Press, 2010.
• We Must Act to Avert Harm to the Future: Toward a Global Moral Consensus (Editor’s Introduction with Kathleen Dean Moore) in Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, eds, Trinity University Press, 2010.
• The Moral Obligations of Scientists (with John A. Vucetich) in The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1, 2010.
• Four Cultures: New Synergies for Engaging Society on Climate Change (with Matthew C. Nisbet, Mark A. Hixon, and Kathleen Dean Moore) in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6, 2010, pp. 329-331.
• Sustainability: Virtuous or Vulgar? (with John A. Vucetich) in BioScience 60, 2010, pp. 539-44.
• Will the future of Isle Royale wolves and moose always differ from our sense of their past? (with John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson), in M. Musiani, P. Paquet, and L. Boitani (eds.) World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behaviour, and Management, University of Calgary Press, 2010, pp. 123-154.
• Geography and Recovery under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (with Carlos Carroll, John Vucetich, Dan Rohlf, and Mike Phillips) in Conservation Biology 24, 2010, pp. 395-403.
• Teaching Holism in Environmental Ethics in Environmental Ethics 32/1, 2010, pp. 33-49.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers
• Environmental ethics

References

1. ^ Michigan State University Philosophy Department accessed July 1, (2011)
2. ^ Michigan State University Philosophy Department accessed July 1, (2011)
3. ^ Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril“ eds Michael Nelson and Kathleen Dean More. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 2010.
4. ^ Nelson, Michael P., and J. Baird Callicott, eds. 2008. The Wilderness Debate Rages On. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
5. ^ The Great New Wilderness Debate eds. Michael P. Nelson and J. Baird Callicot. University of Georgia Press: 1998.
6. ^ Michael P. Nelson and J. Baird Callicott. American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study Pearson Publishing: 2003.
7. ^ 2011 (forthcoming) 'Forming a Philosophy of Environmental Action: Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and the Importance of Community,' The Journal of Environmental Education (with Lissy Goralnik).
8. ^ 2010 'The Perfect Moral Storm, When the Life Rafts are on Fire' (with Kathleen Dean Moore), Minding Nature: A Journal of the Center for Humans and Nature 3.3 (December 2010): 6-11.
9. ^ 2010 'The Moral Obligations of Scientists' (with John Vucetich),The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1, 2010.
10. ^ 2010 'Four Cultures: New Synergies for Engaging Society on Climate Change' (with Matthew C. Nisbet, Mark A. Hixon, and Kathleen Dean Moore), Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6 (2010): 329-31.
11. ^ 2010 'Sustainability: Virtuous or Vulgar?' (with John Vucetich), BioScience 60 (2010): 539-44.
12. ^ 2010 'Geography and Recovery under the U.S. Endangered Species Act' (with Carlos Carroll, John Vucetich, Dan Rohlf, and Mike Phillips), Conservation Biology 24 (2010): 395-403.
13. ^ 2010 'Teaching Holism in Environmental Ethics,' Environmental Ethics 32.1 (2010): 33-49.
14. ^ 2010 'The Logic of Persistence' (response article with John Vucetich, Rolf Peterson, Jannikke Räikkönen), Biological Conservation 143 (2010): 533-34.
15. ^ 2009 'On Advocacy by Environmental Scientists: What, Whether, Why, and How' (with John Vucetich), Conservation Biology 23.5 (Sept. 2009): 1090-1101.
16. ^ 2009 'Abandon Hope' (with John A. Vucetich), The Ecologist, March 2009, pp. 32-35.
17. ^ Michigan State University Philosophy Department accessed July 1, (2011)

External links

• Author Website
• Conservation Ethics Group
• Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project

Persondata
Name	Nelson, Michael P.
Alternative names
Short description	Michigan State University environmental philosophy professor
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
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