Abstract

I argue that Plato has a full-blown environmental philosophy. In the first section, I argue that Plato defended vegetarianism and that he did not see animals as existing for the sake of human beings. In this respect, animals differ from plants: plants do exist for our sake, but animals do not. Then, I argue that Plato is committed to important parts of today's ecocentrist environmental-ethical theories that hold up ecosystems as intrinsically valuable. I also argue that Plato believes that the Earth is worthy of our veneration and praise. I conclude by arguing that Plato's environmental philosophy does have some important limitations.