"Being Human examines the complex connections among conceptions of human nature, attitudes toward nonhuman nature, and ethics. Anna Peterson proposes an "ethical anthropology" that examines how ideas of nature and humanity are bound together in ways that shape the very foundations of cultures. She discusses mainstream Western understandings of what it means to be human, as well as alternatives to these perspectives, and suggests that the construction of a compelling, coherent environmental ethics will require revising our dominant ideas not only about nature but also about what it means to be human. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.