Ecology Philosophy

What is nature? What is humanity's place in nature? And what is the relationship of society to the natural world? In an era of ecological breakdown, answering these questions has become of momentous importance for our everyday lives and for the future that we and other life-forms face. In the essays of The Philosophy of Social Ecology, Murray Bookchin confronts these questions head on, invoking the ideas of mutualism, self-organization, and unity in diversity, in the service of ever-expanding freedom.

Global warming is perhaps the most dramatic example of what Timothy Morton calls "hyperobjects" - entities of such vast temporal and spatial dimensions that they defeat traditional ideas about what a thing is in the first place. In this book, Morton explains what hyperobjects are and their impact on how we think, how we coexist with one another and with nonhumans, and how we experience our politics, ethics, and art.

Environmental Thought and Ecological Philosophy: Deep Explorations of Humanity’s Relationship with Nature BOOK 3: Nature Has Rights: Environmental Ethics, Deep Ecology, and the Moral Status of the Nonhuman World is a deep and accessible exploration of one of the most urgent philosophical questions of our time: does nature have intrinsic value beyond human use? As ecological crises accelerate across the globe, traditional human centered ethical frameworks are increasingly unable to explain, justify, or prevent widespread environmental harm. This book examines the ethical foundations behind...

From the Marginalian creator and bestselling author Maria Popova, a bold exploration of what makes a meaningful life. "It's difficult to imagine a better narrator than Natascha McElhone for this...McElhone's soft voice and poetic cadence guide listeners into the personal and professional lives...

For fans of Everything Is F*cked and Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times, a book about facing the multiple crises of modernity--and hospicing modernity--with maturity, humility, and integrity. This book is not easy: it contains no quick-fix plan for a better, brighter tomorrow...

Noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days chronicling his near-isolation in the small cabin he built in the woods near Walden Pond on land owned by his mentor, the father of Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Immersing himself in nature and solitude, Thoreau sought to develop a greater understanding of society amidst a life of self-reliance and simplicity. Originally published in 1854, Walden remains one of the most celebrated works in American literature.

For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people but with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patterns) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate". How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world?

Brought to you by Penguin. From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book – which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title. At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings...

An accessible and compelling story of a scientist's discovery of plant communication and how it influenced her research and changed her life. In this "phytobiography"--a collection of stories written in partnership with a plant--research scientist Monica Gagliano reveals the dynamic role plants...

A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

Explore ecology in this accessible introduction to how the natural world works and how we have started to understand the environment, ecosystems, and climate change. Using a bold approach, The Ecology Book explores and explains over 85 of the key ideas, movements, and acts that have defined...

A Brief History of Everything is an altogether friendly and accessible account of men and women's place in a universe of sex, soul, and spirit, written by an author of whom New York Times reporter Tony Schwartz says: "No one has described the path to wisdom better than Ken Wilber." Wilber...

An epic comedy about love, spirit, and the quest for transcendence in an anything-but-transcendent America, from the author of the perennial cult bestsellers The River Why and The Brothers K. A random bolt from a DC-8 falls from the sky, killing a child and throwing the faith of a young Jesuit...

Where does hunting fit in the modern world? To many, it can seem outdated or even cruel, but as On Hunting affirms, hunting is holistic, honest, and continually relevant. Authors Grossman, Miller, and Cunningham dive deep into the ancient past of hunting and examine its position today, demonstrating that we cannot understand humanity without first understanding hunting.

John Muir Explained: Wilderness Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, and the Spiritual Foundations of American Conservation explores the life, ideas, and lasting influence of one of the most important figures in environmental thought. More than a naturalist or preservationist, John Muir was a philosopher of the wild whose vision reshaped how Americans understood nature, morality, and humanity’s place within the living world. This book offers a deep and accessible examination of Muir’s ideas, tracing how his experiences, spirituality, and observations formed a coherent philosophy that ...

Environmental Thought and Ecological Philosophy: Deep Explorations of Humanity’s Relationship with Nature BOOK 2: The Web of Life: Ecological Thinking, Systems Theory, and the Interconnected Nature of Reality explores one of the most important intellectual shifts of the modern age: the movement from seeing the world as a collection of isolated parts to understanding it as a dynamic web of relationships. Drawing on ecology, systems theory, and environmental philosophy, this book reveals how life, society, and the natural world are shaped by interdependence, feedback, and complexity. Rather...

This Very Short Introduction audiobook celebrates the centrality of ecology in our lives. Jaboury Ghazoul explores how ecology has evolved rapidly from natural history to become a predictive science that explains how the natural world works and which guides environmental policy and management decisions. 

Aldo Leopold Explained: Land Ethics, Ecological Consciousness, and the Foundations of Modern Environmental Thought is a deep and accessible exploration of one of the most influential thinkers in environmental history. Aldo Leopold transformed how humanity understands its relationship with the natural world by challenging the idea that land exists solely for human use. Through his groundbreaking land ethic, Leopold argued that humans are members of a living community that includes soils, waters, plants, and animals, all deserving of moral consideration. This book introduces Leopold’s life,...

The Tao Te Ching, or the Book of the Way of Virtue is an ancient and venerable Chinese text that may date back as far as the 4th century BC. Its simple yet profound words have been an inspiration to countless generations of artists, writers and thinkers; its ideas are so basic yet so deep that they can be related to most any activity or pursuit. Yet, its original audience was to the emperors of that ancient time and not the general populace. I, too, was inspired by the Tao Te Ching and wrote a set of aphorisms that would relate to our own postmodern condition and time. These words reflect ...

"The Greatest Story Ever ToldDispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war between cousins-the Pandavas and the Kouravas-but the Mahabharata is about conflicts of dharma. These conflicts are immense and various, singular and commonplace. Throughout the epic...