Toward a Small Family Ethic / SpringerBriefs in Public Health (PDF)

Travis N. Rieder, PhD, is a research scholar at Johns Hopkins' Berman Institute of Bioethics, where he also directs the Master of Bioethics program. Much of Travis's research is in the general area of procreative ethics, particularly concerning the morality of procreating in the era of climate change.

“This book remains essential reading for those working on moral issues tied to population growth. Toward a Small Family Ethic presents novel arguments on a vital and underexplored moral issue. Problems tied to population growth will only get worse as the 21st century progresses, so we are fortunate that philosophers like Rieder are getting us started in thinking about this subject.” (Trevor Hedberg, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, kiej.georgetown.edu, April, 2018)





“Travis Rieder’s Toward a Small Family Ethic is a concise and significant contribution to a series on critical dilemmas in population health. It is primarily aimed at scholars in public health programs but has relevance to other disciplines such as demography, environmental sciences, ethics, biology, geography, and international studies. … book might even be helpful for those who want to weigh their decision about procreation most thoughtfully, not just intellectually but personally ‘Family’ is a serious decision at every scale.” (Johanne Sanschagrin, Canadian Studies in Population, Vol. 44 (1-2), 2017) “This book delves into our moral obligations regarding population growth in the ongoing environmental crisis of climate change. … This book is written from the perspective of philosophy for educated readers interested in public health, the environment, and morality. Students and practitioners of public health would find this book enlightening.” (Jaime Konerman-Sease, Doody's Book Reviews, November, 2016)