Of Ethics and Ecosystems: A Bifocal Perspective on Biodiversity Conservation

notion of biodiversity and form a concrete definition by which conservationists can define what exactly it is that they value and wish to preserve. A review of biodiversity definitions will accompany a growing and exhaustive list of components which make up the sort of phenomena which create biological variation, resulting ultimately in an inclusive list of biodiversity components and the manner in which they contribute to the variety and future stability of natural systems. The second section, “Why Conserve Biodiversity?” addresses the myriad ethical issues surrounding biodiversity conservation, primarily the question of justifying biodiversity conservation. In this section I outline a set of adequacy conditions by which a conservation ethic can be assessed for its efficacy and soundness, and proceed to examine the most prominent conservation ethics practiced today. Within this examination, I describe the strengths and weaknesses of various common conservation