James Garvey

Hello There

2009-01-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

Pay no attention to that date up there, I do update this site when I can.

I'm Editor of The Philosophers' Magazine, I'm editing Think Now, a series of books on social and political philosophy, with Jeremy Stangroom, I'm finishing up The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Mind, I'm writing papers for upcoming talks on climate change and morality, I have work underway for collections on climate change, I'm writing a report on sustainability for the Higer Education Authority, I write book reviews and articles, sometimes I say things in the Guardian, I'm writing The Story of Philosophy, again with Jeremy Stangroom, I'm hoping to write a book on a low-carbon trip to New Zealand if I can talk a publisher into it, and I blog at Talking Philosophy. I am actually doing all these things right at this very moment. I never rest.

If you want to get in touch, you can email my first initial, a dot, my last name, at, and then royal institute philosophy without spaces, followed by another dot and then org.

The Ethics of Climate Change

2009-01-13T04:14:00.000-08:00

Here are a few lines about The Ethics of Climate Change:

'The Ethics of Climate Change is a model of philosophical reasoning about one of the greatest moral challenges any generation has ever faced. If you don't yet know why you should be morally outraged about the present situation, read this book. Calmly, carefully, with well-marshalled facts and sound argument, Garvey shows us just how badly the nations of the industrialized world -- and the citizens of those nations -- are behaving. He also tells us what we need to do about it.'
-- Peter Singer, Ira W DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University

'Open this book and James Garvey is right there making real sense to you. A new philosopher doing logic in the world. In a necessary conversation, capturing you to the very end.'
-- Ted Honderich, Grote Professor Emeritus, University College London

'Written in plain English, Garvey's excellent book makes accessiblle to the reader the ethical issues surrounding global warming, and the literature too. It should figure on all relevant reading lists.'
-- Robin Attfield, Professor of Philosophy, Cardiff University

'Essential reading for anyone interested in the urgent moral questions raised by our climate crisis.'
-- Mark Lynas, Author of Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet

'Deserves to be a campus classic.'
-- Jonathan Webber, The Philosopher's Magazine

'...an excellent attempt to weigh up the ethical arguments surrounding climate change. Garvey manages to remind us of the severity of the issue, whilst maintaining a light, enjoyable, easily readable, even conversational style.'
-- Clare Saunders, Environmental Politics

'It's an excellent book to think with: Garvey has a delicious style, often very funny, and a trick of ushering the reader right inside his thought experiments...'
-- Stephen Poole, The Guardian

More reviews in The Guardian, The Philosophers' Magazine, Lifegoggles, and The Daily Kos. One of the books appearing in Mary Robinson's discussion of climate justice on Five Books.

You can order The Ethics of Climate Change on Amazon in the UK here (and in the US here).

Links: The Ethics of Climate Change

2009-01-13T04:10:00.000-08:00

Here are links to writing and interviews about the ethics of climate change.

Video interview for the Environmental Justice Foundation, Hay Festival Maldives, about environmental refugees, 30 October 2010

Rewards for Recycling Waste May Encourage People to Create Waste, The Guardian, 9 June 2010

Green Living is Not About Doing the Right Thing for the Wrong Reason - The Guardian CiF Green, 22 March 2010

Climate Consensus Under Strain - Round Table (I'm last) - The Guardian CiF Green, 4 February 2010

We're All Eco-Warriors Now That Our Leaders Failed Us at Copenhagen - Comment for The Guardian CiF Green, 21 December 2009

Copenhagen is an Opportunity for Ethics to Trump Economics - Comment for The Guardian CiF Green, 4 November 2009

Talk (video) about Environmental Justice, Climate Camp Global Warmup, 28 November 2009

We Broke It, So We Own It - Comment for The Guardian, 7 Sept 2009

Podcast for The Open University - a discussion of the ethics of climate change with Nigel Warburton

Interview for Virtual Philosopher about The Ethics of Climate Change - a short case for action

Four Articles on Climate Change for the New Statesmen Blog - a short treatment of the science of climate change and the moral case for action

Climate Change is a Moral Problem for You, Right Now - for Culture Wars

Some reflection on Climate Change and Justice - for Environmental Research Web

Debating the Bali Climate Deal - at The International Affairs Forum

Regular Blogs for The Philosopher's Magazine - sometimes about climate change (There's an series of blogs which I quite like about Starbucks here)

The History of Philosophy

2009-01-13T03:47:00.001-08:00

I have written two books on the history of philosophy. The first is The Great Philosophers, with Jeremy Stangroom. It was serialized in The Independent.

Here is a link to Amazon UK for The Great Philosophers.

The second is called The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books. Apparently, it's not bad.

'The competition among philosophy popularisers is getting ever more intense by the minute, and the bad news for the rest of the field is that Garvey seems to understand more deeply, write better and explain more clearly than anyone else. ' -- Julian Baggini, Times Higher

You can read a review of the book in Times Higher Education here.

Here is a link to Amazon US, and another link to Amazon UK, for The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books.

The Philosophy of Mind

2009-01-13T03:38:00.000-08:00

My PhD thesis was on the prospects for understanding consciousness from the point of view of the natural sciences. I have written some articles on consciousness and the mind - body problem, but I do find the philosophy of mind very difficult. At the moment, I'd rather read it than write it.

So I am editing The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Mind, which at least involves slightly more reading than writing. It should be published in 2010. Here's the cover blurb:

'The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Mind is a genuinely useful guide to research into the philosophy of mind. Its clear introduction, helpful glossary of key terms, overview of current research, consideration of new trends and directions of research, comprehensive bibliography and chronology of major publications and events will help beginning students hit the ground running and serve as helpful signposts for even advanced researchers. Ten specially commissioned essays will be of interest to researchers at all levels. Written by philosophers pre-eminent in their fields, these papers not only explain the fundamental questions asked by contemporary philosophy of mind but take a stand on the possible answers too. '