Holmes Rolston III (born November 19, 1932) is a
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
who is University Distinguished Professor of
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
at
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
. He is best known for his contributions to
environmental ethics
In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resour ...
and the
relationship between science and religion
The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...
. Among other honors, Rolston won the 2003
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
, awarded by
Prince Philip in
Buckingham Palace. He gave the
Gifford Lectures,
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, 1997–1998. He also serves on the Advisory Council of
METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
The
Darwinian model is used to define the main thematic concepts in Rolston's philosophy and, in greater depth, the general trend of his thinking.
Life
His grandfather and father Holmes Rolston, and Holmes Rolston Jr (who did not use the Jr) were
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
ministers. Rolston III was married on June 1, 1956 to Jane Irving Wilson, with whom he has a daughter and son. He holds a B.S. in physics and mathematics from Presbyterian-affiliated
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...
(1953) and a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theolog ...
degree from
Union Presbyterian Seminary (1956). He was ordained to the ministry of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) also in 1956. He received a Ph.D. from the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
in 1958; his advisor was
Thomas F. Torrance. He earned an M.A. in the
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...
from the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
in 1968, beginning his career later that year as an assistant professor of philosophy at
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
and becoming a full professor in 1976. He became a University Distinguished Professor in 1992. He gave the Gifford Lectures, University of Edinburgh, 1998-1999. He was named
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
laureate in 2003. He has lectured by invitation on all seven continents.
Holmes Rolston 1900-1977
Holmes Rolston (1900-1977), father of Holmes Rolston III, was the Editor-in-Chief of the Presbyterian Church Board of Christian Education, in the United States, Richmond, Virginia between 1949 and 1969, and a widely published author of curriculum materials in Christian education.
He gave the Sprunt Lectures, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Series XXXI 1941-1942, published as ''The Social Message of the Apostle Paul'' (John Knox Press, 1942). He also wrote a number of books on personalities in the Bible, for example: ''Faces about the Christ'' (John Knox Press, 1959) and ''Personalities Around David'' (John Knox Press, 1968). See ''Who's Who in America'', 39th ed., 1976-1977.
Views on rights
Rolston accepts that humans have rights but has criticized the idea of
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
and extending rights to flora because there are no rights in the wild. Rolston has argued that a rights approach to sentient life is ill-suited to ecosystems and when a moral agent is faced with suffering in an ecosystem there is no duty to intervene.
In 1991, Rolston stated:
Rolston has also argued that "environmental ethics accepts predation as good in wild nature", Rolston says that wild
predation
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
should be respected because it has great importance for larger ecosystem and evolutionary processes.
[Diehm, Christian. (2012). ''Unnaturally Cruel: Rolston on Animals, Ethics, and the Factory Farm''. ''Expositions'' 6.1: 29-40. ISSN: 1747–5376.] For example, predators eliminate weak and unfit individuals from populations of prey organisms contributing to the overall integrity of those species and culling of unfit organisms by predators is vital to the evolutionary process of natural selection, which Rolston believes trends towards more complex and diverse life forms.
Rolston has stated that predation is an integral part of nature which "yields a flourishing of species" and has contributed to some of the most significant achievements in natural history and that without predation, life on earth would be greatly impoverished.
Rolston has argued that when humans encounter wild nature they are not under any duty or obligation to alleviate any
wild animal suffering and that since animals in the wild have no claim to a pleasant life free of pain then humans have no moral duty to provide them with one.
Rolston says that this also holds true for domesticated animals because although they have been brought under the care of humans, their origins are from wild nature so the comparison class for assessing conduct towards them should not be from humans but from other animals. In Rolston's view domesticated animals like wild animals "have no right or welfare claim to have from humans a kinder treatment than in nonhuman nature".
Bibliography
Holmes Rolston III is author of eight books that have won acclaim in both academic journals and the mainstream press. They are:
''A New Environmental Ethics: The Next Millennium for Life on Earth'' (Routledge, 2012)
''Three Big Bangs: Matter-Energy, Life, Mind'' (Columbia University Press, 2011)
''Genes, Genesis and God''(Cambridge University Press, 1999) Gifford Lectures
''Science and Religion: A Critical Survey''(Random House 1987, McGraw Hill, Harcourt Brace; new edition,
Templeton Foundation Press
The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a philanthropic organization that reflects the ideas of its founder, John Templeton, who became wealthy via a career as a contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in religious ...
, 2006)
''Philosophy Gone Wild''(
Prometheus Books, 1986, 1989)
''Environmental Ethics''(
Temple University Press, 1988)
''Conserving Natural Value''(Columbia University Press, 1994)
*''Religious Inquiry: Participation and Detachment'' (Philosophical Library, 1985)
*''John Calvin Versus the Westminster Confession'' (Richmond, VA:
John Knox Press
Westminster John Knox Press is an American publisher of Christian books located in Louisville, Kentucky and is part of Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, the publishing arm of the Louisville, Kentucky-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The P ...
, 1972)
"Care on Earth: Generating Informed Concern." Pages 205-245 in
Paul Davies and Niels Henrik Gregersen, eds., ''Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Quotes
See also
*
American philosophy
*
List of science and religion scholars
*
List of American philosophers
This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States.
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References
Further reading
''Saving Creation: Nature and Faith in the Life of Holmes Rolston, III,''Christopher J. Preston (San Antonio:
Trinity University Press
Trinity University Press is a university press affiliated with Trinity University, which is located in San Antonio, Texas. Trinity University Press was officially founded in 1967 after the university acquired the Illinois-based Principia Press. T ...
, 2009).
''Nature, Value, Duty: Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, III,''Christopher J. Preston and Wayne Ouderkirk, eds. (Berlin: Springer, 2007)
"Holmes Rolston, III"in ''Key Thinkers on the Environment'', Joy A. Palmer Cooper and David E. Cooper, eds. (London: Routledge, 2018), pages 291-297.
*"Rolston, Holmes," in ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
, 2004 Book of the Year'', pages 92–93.
*''Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2008.'
Rolston/ Holmes Rolston. 2008.''Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy''(Detroit: Macmillan Reference, Gale, 2009), vol. 2, pp. 211–212, "Rolston, Holmes, III," by Philip Cafaro.
"Rolston, Holmes," in Anne Becher, ed. ''American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present''(Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, November 2000), vol II, L-Z, pages 691-692; Millerton, NY:
Grey House Publishing
Grey House Publishing is an American publisher of directories and other reference books in business, health, education and other areas.
Its corporate headquarters are in Amenia, New York. It also has a Canadian office in Toronto
Toronto ...
, 2008, vol. II, L-Z, pp. 695–697.
"A Philosopher Gone Wild,"in David D. Karnos and Robert G. Shoemaker, eds., ''Falling in Love with Wisdom: American Philosophers Talk About Their Calling'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).
"Rolston, Holmes (1932- )"in ''Environmental Encyclopedia'', 1st, 2nd, 3rd editions. Marci Bortman et al., eds. (Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 2003).
"Natural Thinker,"Cover story by Steve Lipsher, ''
Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 1 ...
Empire Magazine'', June 8, 1997, cover and pages 12–15, 22.
"Rolston, III, Holmes,"''Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature'', vol. 2, pp. 1400–1401 (London and New York:
Thoemmes Continuum Publishers, 2005)
"Who's Who in America - 2019" and earlier editions. Also 2020, 2021.
*''Who's Who in the World - 2019'', and earlier editions.
*''Who's Who in Science and Engineering'', current and earlier editions.
''U.S. Congressional Record - Rolston congratulated'' 2003.
External links
Official webpageat Colorado State University
Profileat Colorado State University
on ReadTheSpirit.com
Colorado State University Digital ArchivesColorado State University Streaming MediaRolston Library, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State UniversityHolmes Rolston, III-
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes ...
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolston, Holmes, Iii
1932 births
Living people
20th-century American philosophers
21st-century American philosophers
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Critics of animal rights
American Presbyterians
Calvinist and Reformed philosophers
Environmental ethicists
Philosophers of science
Templeton Prize laureates
Union Presbyterian Seminary alumni
University of Pittsburgh alumni
Writers about religion and science
Distinguished professors of philosophy