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263Head in the CloudsEnvironment, Space, Place 2 (1): 147-184. 2010.The sky proclaimed Emerson is “the daily bread of the eyes.” Despite the apparent truth of this observation, we often fail to appreciate the complex canopy of air above and around us in considerations of environmental aesthetics and ecological awareness. I examine the sky and aerial phenomena that are bound to, closely allied with, or materially emergent from, this ocean of blue. In the process, I develop a perspective for thinking about some of the aesthetic characteristics and dimensions of th…Read more
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66Hannah Arendt and the politics of place: from earth alienation to oikosIn Minding nature: the philosophers of ecology, Guilford Press. pp. 102--133. 1996.
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65Minding nature: the philosophers of ecology (edited book)Guilford Press. 1996.Philosophers, Henri Bergson once observed, "seem to philosophize as if they were sealed in the privacy of their study and did not live on a planet surrounded by the vast organic world of animals, plants, insects, and protozoa." Providing a solid overview of ecological philosophy and original insights into this developing field, Minding Nature focuses on some of the most influential thinkers who, in fact, have emphasized our natural relations to the earth, our social creations, and each other. Co…Read more
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62The place of the elements and the elements of place: Aristotelian contributions to environmental thoughtEthics, Place and Environment 9 (2). 2006.I examine the ancient and perennial notion of the elements (stoicheia) and its relation to an idea of place proper (topos) and natural place (topos oikeios) in Aristotle's work. Through an exploration of his accounts, I argue that Aristotle develops a robust theory of place that is relevant to current environmental and geographical thought. In the process, he provides a domestic household and home for earth, air, fire and water that offers a supplement or an alternative to more abstract and cont…Read more
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50Night and ShadowsEnvironment, Space, Place 1 (2): 51-76. 2009.I examine the kindred phenomena of shadows and night in order to reveal their significance for better understanding our lifeworld and the elemental environment. I first describe how light is primary to ecological perception and how it conditions our conceptions of space, truth, and beauty. Light and darkness are involved in a dialectical relationship rather than conceived as polar opposites. Borne of the interplay of both realms, shadows have been disparaged historically and deserve to be recons…Read more
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39The Domestication of WaterEssays in Philosophy 6 (1): 159-177. 2005.This paper examines some of the key ways in which water is mediated by technology and human artifacts. I show how the modes in which we conceive and experience this vital fluid are affected deeply by the techniques and instruments we use to interact with it. I argue that a notion of the domestication of water enables us to better grasp our relations with the environment given that vast volumes of water are now neither completely natural nor artificial in the conventional senses of the terms. Ins…Read more
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28Elemental Philosophy: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as Environmental IdeasState University of New York Press. 2010._Explores the ancient and perennial notion of the four elements as environmental ideas._
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27Political Animals: A Study of the Emerging Animal Rights Movement in the United StatesBetween the Species 4 (2): 9. 1988.
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6The Seasons: Philosophical, Literary, and Environmental Perspectives (edited book)SUNY Press. 2021.Although the seasons have been a perennial theme in literature and art, their significance for philosophy and environmental theory has remained largely unexplored. This pioneering book demonstrates the ways in which inquiry into the seasons reveals new and illuminating perspectives for philosophy, environmental thought, anthropology, cultural studies, aesthetics, poetics, and literary criticism. The Seasons opens up new avenues for research in these fields and provides a valuable resource for te…Read more
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4Home on the Road: Pilgrimage, Place, and PeripateticsIn John Murungi & Linda Ardito (eds.), Home - Lived Experiences: Philosophical Reflections, Springer Verlag. pp. 113-140. 2021.The idea and experience of the home is constituted in large part by departures from and returns to it, as well as by the deep cultural and emotional longing for it. I explore how pilgrimages and human ambulation more generally are significant in this regard and show that one can also be very much at home on the road in the act of slow movement across the earth, our most basic dwelling place. A particular focus is given to Asian philosophy, where Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, and everyday walkers crea…Read more
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4Thinking through the SeasonsIn Luke Fischer & David Macauley (eds.), The Seasons: Philosophical, Literary, and Environmental Perspectives, Suny Press. pp. 1-23. 2021.
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2The Four Seasons and the Rhythms of Place-Based TimeIn Luke Fischer & David Macauley (eds.), The Seasons: Philosophical, Literary, and Environmental Perspectives, Suny Press. pp. 27-52. 2021.
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1Walking the CityIn Arnold Berleant & Allen Carlson (eds.), The Aesthetics of Human Environments, Broadview Press. pp. 100--118. 2007.
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Review of David Macauley, ed. Minding Nature: The Philosophers of Ecology (review)Environmental Ethics 20. 1998.
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Transformations of Urban and Suburban Landscapes: Perspectives From Philosophy, Geography, and Architecture (edited book)Lexington Books. 2002.The study of landscape and place has become an increasingly fertile realm of inquiry in the humanities and social sciences. In this new book of essays, selected from presentations at the first annual meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Geography, scholars investigate the experiences and meanings that inscribe urban and suburban landscapes. Gary Backhaus and John Murungi bring philosophy and geography into a dialogue with a host of other disciplines to explore a fundamental dialectic: while…Read more
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Getting Back into Place: Toward a Renewed Understanding of the PlaceWorldEnvironmental Ethics 22. 2000.
University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Aesthetics |
Applied Ethics |
Continental Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Continental Philosophy |