The Foundations of Nature

The Foundations of Nature PDF

Author: Michael Dominic Taylor

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-12-24

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1725264978

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Will the ecological crises of our time be resolved using the same form of thought that has brought them about? Are technological prowess and political power the proper tools to address them? Is there not a deeper connection between our ecological crises and our human, social, political, economic, and ethical crises? This book argues that the popular approaches to ecological, bioethical, and other human crises are not working because they fail to examine the problem in its full depth. This depth escapes us because we have abandoned true metaphysical reflection on the whole and substituted it unknowingly for a series of inadequate alternatives. Both the technocratic paradigm that views all of nature mechanistically and its antagonists—the eco-philosophies that argue for the realities of intrinsic value, relationality, and beauty—carry partial truths but are insufficient. This book presents a more radical alternative, rooted in the classical tradition yet fresh and vibrant. The metaphysics of gift, based in the giftedness of existence shared by all, offers a deeper and more satisfying vision of all things that can transform our relationship with nature and touches every aspect of human life: social, political, economic, technical, and ethical.

The Foundations of Natural Morality

The Foundations of Natural Morality PDF

Author: S. Adam Seagrave

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2014-05-05

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 022612357X

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Recent years have seen a renaissance of interest in the relationship between natural law and natural rights. During this time, the concept of natural rights has served as a conceptual lightning rod, either strengthening or severing the bond between traditional natural law and contemporary human rights. Does the concept of natural rights have the natural law as its foundation or are the two ideas, as Leo Strauss argued, profoundly incompatible? With The Foundations of Natural Morality, S. Adam Seagrave addresses this controversy, offering an entirely new account of natural morality that compellingly unites the concepts of natural law and natural rights. Seagrave agrees with Strauss that the idea of natural rights is distinctly modern and does not derive from traditional natural law. Despite their historical distinctness, however, he argues that the two ideas are profoundly compatible and that the thought of John Locke and Thomas Aquinas provides the key to reconciling the two sides of this long-standing debate. In doing so, he lays out a coherent concept of natural morality that brings together thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to Hobbes and Locke, revealing the insights contained within these disparate accounts as well as their incompleteness when considered in isolation. Finally, he turns to an examination of contemporary issues, including health care, same-sex marriage, and the death penalty, showing how this new account of morality can open up a more fruitful debate.

Foundations of the Earth

Foundations of the Earth PDF

Author: H.H. Shugart

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2014-07-08

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 0231537697

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"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" God asks Job in the "Whirlwind Speech," but Job cannot reply. This passage—which some environmentalists and religious scholars treat as a "green" creation myth—drives renowned ecologist H. H. Shugart's extraordinary investigation, in which he uses verses from God's speech to Job to explore the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change. Shugart calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth's natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of biblical scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. The divine questions that frame his study are quintessentially religious, and the global changes humans have wrought on the Earth operate not only in the physical, chemical, and biological spheres but also in the spiritual realm. Shugart offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face: the relationship between human technology and large-scale environmental degradation, the effect of invasive species on the integrity of ecosystems, the role of humans in generating wide biotic extinctions, and the future of our oceans and tides.

Kant's Construction of Nature

Kant's Construction of Nature PDF

Author: Michael Friedman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-01-17

Total Pages: 645

ISBN-13: 0521198399

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This book develops a new reading of the Metaphysical Foundations and articulates an original perspective of Kant's critical philosophy as a whole.

Cognitive Foundations of Natural History

Cognitive Foundations of Natural History PDF

Author: Scott Atran

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993-01-29

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9780521438711

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Inspired by a debate between Noam Chomsky and Jean Piaget, this work traces the development of natural history from Aristotle to Darwin, and demonstrates how the science of plants and animals has emerged from the common conceptions of folkbiology.

Modeling Nature

Modeling Nature PDF

Author: Sharon E. Kingsland

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1995-10-16

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9780226437286

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The first history of population ecology traces two generations of science and scientists from the opening of the twentieth century through 1970. Kingsland chronicles the careers of key figures and the field's theoretical, empirical, and institutional development, with special attention to tensions between the descriptive studies of field biologists and later mathematical models. This second edition includes a new afterword that brings the book up to date, with special attention to the rise of "the new natural history" and debates about ecology's future as a large-scale scientific enterprise.

Foundations for Sustainability

Foundations for Sustainability PDF

Author: Daniel A. Fiscus

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2018-11-16

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0128116447

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Foundations for Sustainability: A Coherent Framework of Life-Environment Relations challenges existing assumptions on environmental issues and lays the groundwork for a new paradigm, bringing a greater understanding of what is needed to help create an environmentally and economically sustainable future, which to date has been an uphill battle and not an obvious choice. The book presents the case for a paradigm based on a multi-model of life as organism, life as ecosystem, and life as biosphere, as opposed to the singular assumption that life can be viewed solely as an organism. All backed with well-cited research from top investigators from around the world, this book is a must-have resource for anyone working in ecology, environmental science or sustainability. Introduces a holistic, systemic approach and a synthesis of the systemic root cause that underlies many surface symptoms that are part of individual environmental problems (climate, water, energy, etc.) Complements current piecemeal approaches in order to solve many interconnected environmental problems which share root causes Provides tests and thought experiments to challenge current views on sustainability, leveraging the power of critical thinking to find new solutions Gives insights on how to find solutions by blending interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary focuses with disciplinary specialization in ecology and ecosystem science Bridges concepts and methods from math to ecology to human development

World, Mind, and Ethics

World, Mind, and Ethics PDF

Author: James Edward John Altham

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1995-04-06

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780521479301

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A distinguished international team of philosophers offer responses to the work of Bernard Williams, followed by the author's reply.

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