What Should Conservation Aim For?: Values and Objectivity in The Aims of Conservation

The question of what conservation should aim for is of increasing importance as the planetary ecological crisis deepens and greater amounts of resources are invested into conservation science. This thesis seeks to aid in addressing this question through providing a detailed analysis of what I take to be the three most significant concepts used to frame the aims of conservation science: naturalness, ecosystem health, and biodiversity. Each of these concepts has been taken to point to some objectively existing natural property which should be the focus of conservation efforts. I argue, however, that the application of each of these concepts is partly dependent on evaluative judgements, and as such, purely empirical scientific criteria will be insufficient to determine their application, which requires reference to inherently normative criteria. In the case of naturalness, I argue that the use of this concept has radically different implications depending on whether we value ‘historical fidelity’ or ‘non-intervention’. In the case of ecosystem health and degradation, I argue that our criteria for the measurement of these properties depends on evaluative judgements regarding the selection of an appropriate ‘reference class’ for comparison, as well as the ‘identity conditions’ of the ecosystem. In the case of biodiversity, I argue that the selection of a measure of biodiversity depends on judgements regarding which types of biological difference are most valuable that can’t be made without considering non-epistemic factors. Finally, I discuss what the value-dependence of these terms implies for the objectivity of conservation science. By distinguishing values from mere preferences, I argue that value-dependence needn’t result in a problematic subjectivism or relativism. I conclude by arguing for a procedural conception of objectivity in conservation science which provides strategies for reducing subjectivity and bias by subjecting underlying values to critique and scrutiny from diverse perspectives through inclusive deliberative procedures.