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Philosophy General

Thinking Nature

An Essay in Negative Ecology

by (author) Sean J. McGrath

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2019
Category
General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781474449267
    Publish Date
    Apr 2019
    List Price
    $121.00

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Description

Makes a compelling case for a new Anthropocenic humanism where humans have a special responsibility for nature

Moving between ancient and modern sources, philosophy and theology, and science and popular culture, Sean McGrath offers a genuinely new reflection on what it means to be human in an era of climate change, mass extinction and geoengineering. Engaging with contemporary thinkers in eco-criticism, including Timothy Morton, Bruno Latour and Slavoj Zizek, McGrath argues for a distinctive role for the human being in the universe: the human being is nature come to full consciousness. Nature thinks itself in us, giving us a unique responsibility for it.

McGrath's compelling case for a new Anthropocenic humanism is founded on a reverence for nature, a humanism that is not at the expense of nature, and a naturalism that is not at the expense of the human.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Sean J. McGrath is Full Professor of Philosophy at Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada. McGrath is a specialist in the philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy. He has published and lectured widely in German idealism, phenomenology, ecology, theology, and psychoanalysis.