Ecology without Nature

Argues that the chief stumbling block to environmental thinking is the image of nature itself. Ranging widely in 18th-century through contemporary philosophy, culture, and history, this title explores the value of art in imagining environmental projects. It traces the contexts of ecological constructs through the history of capitalism.

Informationen zum Autor Timothy Morton is Rita Shea Guffey Chair of English at Rice University. Klappentext Morton argues that the chief stumbling block to environmental thinking is the image of nature most writers promote: they propose a new world view, but their very zeal to preserve the natural world leads them away from the "nature" they revere. To have a properly ecological view, Morton suggests, we must relinquish, once and for all, the idea of nature. Zusammenfassung Morton argues that the chief stumbling block to environmental thinking is the image of nature most writers promote: they propose a new world view! but their very zeal to preserve the natural world leads them away from the "nature" they revere. To have a properly ecological view! Morton suggests! we must relinquish! once and for all! the idea of nature. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: Toward a Theory of Ecological Criticism The Art of Environmental Language: "I Can't Believe It Isn't Nature!" Romanticism and the Environmental Subject Imagining Ecology without Nature Notes Index

Auteur

Timothy Morton

Texte du rabat

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."

Contenu

*Introduction: Toward a Theory of Ecological Criticism *The Art of Environmental Language: "I Can't Believe It Isn't Nature!" *Romanticism and the Environmental Subject *Imagining Ecology without Nature *Notes *Index