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Carolyn Merchant is Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley.
Fotografie: University of California at Berkeley

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Carolyn Merchant's "Reinventing Eden" traces the development of Western conceptions of paradise on Earth - or 'Eden' - from early mythology to the present day. The work looks at different conceptions of paradise through the ages - a golden age from which humanity fell; something that can be restored by science, technology, and capitalism; and the mall as eden to the capitalist mind. The developments include different perspectives such as Indigenous, black, feminist, environmentalist, and religious views, as they pertain to the current climatw crisis. Merchant iterates her partnership thesis and cites Murray Bookchin (if you read more than one of her books, you will see this same theme come up again and again). This book offers very valuable insight into how we got to where we are today, and proposes a solution. A great work for those interested in postcolonialism, socialism, ecology, feminism, and all the ways they intersect.… (meer)
 
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AmericanAlexandria | Aug 10, 2022 |
Radical Ecology discusses various environmental movements, including social ecology and socialist ecology, ecofeminism, bioregionalism, eco spiritual movements, and more. Carolyn Merchant goes through the essential tenants and critiques of each ideology, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses. Merchant builds this into her own concepts of a partnership ethic.
For those who have already read "The Death of Nature" some sections will be a bit repetitive, as Merchant builds on her historical overview in this volume, but overall, it is a fantastic read, highly recommended for anyone looking into theories within the environmental movement.… (meer)
 
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AmericanAlexandria | 2 andere besprekingen | May 18, 2021 |
"The Death of Nature" is one of Carolyn Merchant's most well known works. In this volume she explores the history of scientific philosophy and theory as it evolved through the Renaissance into Early Modern Europe.

Merchant analyses the evolution from an organismic perspective of nature, where the Earth was seen as alive, to a mechanist view of the cosmos, where the earth, and much of the universe, began to be seen as inanimate matter.

Merchant traces this framework change alongside economic changes from the 16th-18th centuries, demonstrating how proto-capitalism and a perspective of inanimate nature fused into a capitalist method that permitted exploitation of an inaminate nature, along with those perceived as lower on the chain of being - women, Indigenous peoples and black people.

This work is a fascinating insight into the history of scientific thought and proto-capitalism, that truly allows the reader to understand the ways that humanity has historically rationalized exploitation and hierarchy.

I do wish the Franciscans were mentioned alongside other late medieval and Renaissance thinkers of an animate world, as Francis of Assisi was a highly notable medieval thinker that saw God in nature, and could have contributed to this historical overview.
… (meer)
 
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AmericanAlexandria | 3 andere besprekingen | Apr 17, 2021 |
Carolyn Merchant takes the reader through the past 400 years of New England's history with an environmental lens, noting three ecological revolutions. More than just analysing the environment, however, Merchant analyzes economic conditions and modes of production, social and cultural relations including science and religion, and women's history, demonstrating how capitalism dispossessed many New Englanders from the land, and how they resisted before capitalism won out.

By weaving these together, Merchant provides the reader with a fascinating account, ending in a philosophical epilogue that highlights the need of environmental action - and offering a philosophical framework and suggestions of how New England can go about it.

The one weakness I can note is that after the initial chapters, and prior to the epilogue, there is not much discussion of the Indigenous peoples in New England and any ongoing dispossession from the land, which would have been beneficial in understanding the continuing environmental impacts of colonization. Further, in the final chapters, when discussing the rise of capitalism and textile mills in the region, the discussion of the French Canadian and Irish immigrants working in these industries is not present.

The inclusion of ethnic others and their own dispossessions and exploitation in a capitalist extractavist economy may have added additional strength to the historic analysis, and contributed to the epilogue as well.

Overall, this book is a fantastic read, and offers critical insight. I would highly recommend it to any student of New England history, environmentalism, feminism, or marxism. It may quickly become one of your favorites as well!
… (meer)
 
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AmericanAlexandria | 1 andere bespreking | Apr 12, 2021 |

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15
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3
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1,034
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#24,905
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3.8
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