Peter S. Wenz (born 1945) is an American philosopher who specializes in

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 resourc ...

. He is Professor of Philosophy and Legal Studies at the

University of Illinois at Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois s ...

Biography

Wenz received his B.A. in philosophy in 1967 from Harpur College of the State University of New York at Binghamton (now

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

) and his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1971 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. He taught at the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well as ...

from 1971 to 1976 before moving to

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. He has also taught at Polytechnic of the South Bank (now

South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

) in London, England (1980–81); at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in Scotland (1986–87); at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in England (fall 2003) and at The University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand (2007). He teaches regularly at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown in the Western Southern Tier of New York State. Established in 1874, the ...

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. Wenz is Professor of Philosophy and Legal Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield, University Scholar of the University of Illinois, and Adjunct Professor of Medical Humanities at the

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is a medical school located in Springfield, the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is part of the Southern Illinois University system, which includes a campus in Edwardsville as well as the ...

. He is best known for work in environmental justice, being among those who simultaneously coined the term in the mid-1980s. His most widely reprinted articles are "Just Garbage" and "Minimal Moderate and Extreme Moral Pluralism." Wenz has written academic papers on

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 sa ...

and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

. His specialties include environmental ethics, political remedial philosophy, and medical ethics.

Selected publications

*Wenz, Peter S
''An Ecological Argument for Vegetarianism''
''Ethics and Animals'', 1984. Reprinted in ''Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer''."Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer"
SUNY Press. * * * * * * * Wenz, Peter S. (2009). ''Beyond Red and Blue: How Twelve Political Philosophies Shape American Debates. ''Cambridge''. ''MA: MIT Press.'' * Peter S. Wenz. "Tierrechte im sozialen Kontext"
Interdisziplinäre Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tierethik
(Hrsg.).
Tierrechte - Eine interdisziplinäre Herausforderung
'. Erlangen 2007. *

References

External links

Video of Peter Wenz lecture "Animal Rights in Social Context" at the Interdisciplinary Lectures on Animal Rights at Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg on 31 May 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenz, Peter 1945 births American animal rights scholars American non-fiction environmental writers American philosophy academics Harpur College alumni Living people People from Springfield, Illinois Southern Illinois University faculty University of Illinois at Springfield faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point faculty