Philosophers have struggled with value theory as one of the most recalcitrant problems for environmental ethics. Theologians can benefit from their efforts when retrieving and reworking notions about the goodness of creation in patristic and medieval texts, particularly those by Augustine, John Chrysostom, and Thomas Aquinas. This process yields a religiously motivated rationale for intrinsic-instrumental valuing of the physical world\u27s constituents for themselves, their relationships to one another, and their common good that can be relevant, meaningful, and helpful for responding to ecological degradatio
