>It is hard to find a biologist who writes about biodiversity and who does not follow Wilson’s path.

> I'm eager to hear any arguments to the contrary!

> Wilson proposes "that species have universal and independent rights, regardless of how else human beings feel about the matter." But it is a long way from Wilson's limp, biophilia-tinged pep talk ["The future of life" 2002], which proclaims, "It is not so difficult to love nonhuman life", to "we ought to love nonhuman life", and from there, on to "nonhuman life forms (that is, nonhuman species) have (minimally) a right to exist". It is a longer stretch still to the ultimate touchstone of biodiversity. Wilson certainly does not supply the required bridge for that last stretch, which would require the proposition that "we ought to love the diversity that results from there being many different nonhuman forms of life".  Maier, 2012

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