The Problem of Nature

The Problem of Nature PDF Author: David Arnold
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631190219
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This book considers how nature - in both its biological and environmental manifestations - has been invoked as a dynamic force in human history. It shows how historians, philosophers, geographers, anthropologists and scientists have used ideas of nature to explain the evolution of cultures, to understand cultural difference, and to justify or condemn colonization, slavery and racial superiority. It examines the central part that ideas of environmental and biological determinism have played in theory, and describes how these ideas have served in different ways at different times as instruments of authority, identity and defiance. The book shows how powerful and problematic the invocation of nature can be.

The Problem of Nature

The Problem of Nature PDF Author: David Arnold
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631190219
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book considers how nature - in both its biological and environmental manifestations - has been invoked as a dynamic force in human history. It shows how historians, philosophers, geographers, anthropologists and scientists have used ideas of nature to explain the evolution of cultures, to understand cultural difference, and to justify or condemn colonization, slavery and racial superiority. It examines the central part that ideas of environmental and biological determinism have played in theory, and describes how these ideas have served in different ways at different times as instruments of authority, identity and defiance. The book shows how powerful and problematic the invocation of nature can be.

Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life

Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life PDF Author: Laurence D. Cooper
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271029889
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The rise of modern science created a crisis for Western moral and political philosophy, which had theretofore relied either on Christian theology or Aristotelian natural teleology as guarantors of an objective standard for &"the good life.&" This book examines Rousseau's effort to show how and why, despite this challenge from science (which he himself intensified by equating our subhuman origins with our natural state), nature can remain a standard for human behavior. While recognizing an original goodness in human being in the state of nature, Rousseau knew this to be too low a standard and promoted the idea of &"the natural man living in the state of society,&" notably in Emile. Laurence Cooper shows how, for Rousseau, conscience&—understood as the &"love of order&"&—functions as the agent whereby simple savage sentiment is sublimated into a more refined &"civilized naturalness&" to which all people can aspire.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw PDF Author: Michael Murray
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199237271
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Those who believe in God often puzzle over how God could permit evil and suffering in the world. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw focuses specifically on non-human animal suffering, and whether or not it raises problems for belief in the existence of a perfectly good creator.

Ecology Without Nature

Ecology Without Nature PDF Author: Timothy Morton
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674034856
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
In Ecology without Nature, Timothy Morton argues that the chief stumbling block to environmental thinking is the image of nature itself. Ecological writers propose a new worldview, but their very zeal to preserve the natural world leads them away from the "nature" they revere. The problem is a symptom of the ecological catastrophe in which we are living. Morton sets out a seeming paradox: to have a properly ecological view, we must relinquish the idea of nature once and for all. Ecology without Nature investigates our ecological assumptions in a way that is provocative and deeply engaging. Ranging widely in eighteenth-century through contemporary philosophy, culture, and history, he explores the value of art in imagining environmental projects for the future. Morton develops a fresh vocabulary for reading "environmentality" in artistic form as well as content, and traces the contexts of ecological constructs through the history of capitalism. From John Clare to John Cage, from Kierkegaard to Kristeva, from The Lord of the Rings to electronic life forms, Ecology without Nature widens our view of ecological criticism, and deepens our understanding of ecology itself. Instead of trying to use an idea of nature to heal what society has damaged, Morton sets out a radical new form of ecological criticism: "dark ecology."

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative PDF Author: Florence Williams
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393242722
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
"Highly informative and remarkably entertaining." —Elle From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to eucalyptus groves in California, Florence Williams investigates the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. Delving into brand-new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.

The Problem of Time

The Problem of Time PDF Author: John Alexander Gunn
Publisher: London : G. Allen & Unwin
ISBN:
Category : Space and time
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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Book Description


Exploring Human Nature

Exploring Human Nature PDF Author: Jana Lemke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789088905599
Category : Human beings
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This work presents a reflexive mixed methods study of young adults' experiences of solo time in the wilderness and the impact on these individuals' attitudes and values in the face of global change.

Making "Nature"

Making Author: Melinda Baldwin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022626159X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Making "Nature" is the first book to chronicle the foundation and development of Nature, one of the world's most influential scientific institutions. Now nearing its hundred and fiftieth year of publication, Nature is the international benchmark for scientific publication. Its contributors include Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford, and Stephen Hawking, and it has published many of the most important discoveries in the history of science, including articles on the structure of DNA, the discovery of the neutron, the first cloning of a mammal, and the human genome. But how did Nature become such an essential institution? In Making "Nature," Melinda Baldwin charts the rich history of this extraordinary publication from its foundation in 1869 to current debates about online publishing and open access. This pioneering study not only tells Nature's story but also sheds light on much larger questions about the history of science publishing, changes in scientific communication, and shifting notions of "scientific community." Nature, as Baldwin demonstrates, helped define what science is and what it means to be a scientist.

When the Rivers Run Dry

When the Rivers Run Dry PDF Author: Fred Pearce
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807085738
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
In this groundbreaking book, veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce travels to more than thirty countries to examine the current state of crucial water sources. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific, economic, and historic dimensions of the world water crisis, he provides our most complete portrait yet of this growing danger and its ramifications for us all. "A strong-and scary-case that a worldwide water shortage is the most fearful looming environmental crisis. With a drumbeat of facts both horrific (thousands of wells in India and Bangladesh are poisoned by fluoride and arsenic) and fascinating (it takes 20 tons of water to make one pound of coffee), the former New Scientist news editor documents a "kind of cataclysm" already affecting many of the world"s great rivers." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Oil we can replace. Water we can"t-which is why this book is both so ominous and so important." -Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

Anatomy and the Problem of Behaviour

Anatomy and the Problem of Behaviour PDF Author: G. E. Coghill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107502357
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
Originally published in 1929, this book contains three lectures on the subject of the anatomical basis for typical behavioural development in animals.