Canadian Environmental Philosophy is the first collection of essays to take up theoretical and practical issues in environmental philosophy today, from a Canadian perspective. The essays cover various subjects, including ecological nationalism, the legacy of Grey Owl, the meaning of “outside” to Canadians, the paradigm shift from mechanism to ecology in our understanding of nature, the meaning and significance of the Anthropocene, the challenges of biodiversity protection in Canada, the conservation status of crossbred species in the age of climate change, and the moral status of ecosystems. This wide range of topics is as diverse and challenging as the Canadian landscape itself. Given the extent of humanity’s current impact on the biosphere – especially evident with anthropogenic climate change and the ongoing mass extinction – it has never been more urgent for us to confront these environmental chal- lenges as Canadian citizens and citizens of the world. Canadian Environmen- tal Philosophy galvanizes this conversation from the perspective of this place. C. Tyler DesRoches is assistant professor of sustainability and human well- being and assistant professor of philosophy at Arizona State University. Frank Jankunis is instructor of philosophy at Camosun College. Byron Williston is professor of philosophy at Wilfrid Laurier University. What personal truths reside in biological ties that are absent in adoptive ties? And why do we think adoptive and biological ties are essentially different when it comes to understanding who we are? At a time when interest in dna and ancestry is exploding, Frances Latchford questions the idea that knowing one’s bio-genealogy is integral to personal identity or a sense of family and belonging. Upending our established values and beliefs about what makes a family, Steeped in Blood examines the social and political devaluation of adoptive ties. It takes readers on an intellectual journey through accepted wisdom about adoption, twins, kinship, and incest, and challenges our naturalistic and individualistic assumptions about identity and the biological ties that bind us, sometimes violently, to our families. Latchford exposes how our desire for bio-genealogical knowledge, understood as it is by family and adoption experts, pathologizes adoptees by posing the biological tie as a necessary condition for normal identity formation. Rejecting the idea that a love of the self-same is fundamental to family bonds, her book is a reaction to the wounds families suffer whenever they dare to revel in their difference. A rejoinder to rhetoric that defines adoptees, adoptive kin, and their family intimacies as inferior and inauthentic, Steeped in Blood’s view through the lens of critical adoption studies decentres our cultural obsession with the biological family imaginary and makes real the possibility of being family in the absence of blood. Frances J. Latchford is associate professor of philosophy in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University. 2 1 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S May 2019 -5,7a755pl7lnn57n 4psi-l£ bAU1 4psi-l£ Dc1 kshi-- 6o602 -5,7a755pl7lnnn7- 4Ssaiaac bAU1 4Ssaiaac Dc1 k-niaa $.9ru n B - pls66 l 6u9r931 n Cto:2ox3 0g99T omot.oN.0 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S May 2019 -5,7a755pl7ln,S7s 4p-i-l£ bAU1 4phi-l£ Dc1 ksni-- 6o602 -5,7a755pl7ln,a7l 4Ssaiaac bAU1 4Ssaiaac Dc1 k-niaa $.9ru n B - hsh66 0g99T omot.oN.0 Steeped in Blood Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family frances j. latchford An excoriation of bio-essentialism, this book turns conventional wisdom about adoption, identity, and biological family on its head. P H I L O S O P H Y • G E N D E R A N D S E X U A L I T Y S T U D I E S Canadian Environmental Philosophy edited by c. tyler desroches, frank jankunis, and byron williston Grappling with the philosophical dimensions of our current ecological crisis, from a Canadian perspective. P H I L O S O P H Y • E N V I R O N M E N TA L S T U D I E S