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315Basho and the aesthetics of wandering: Recuperating space, recognizing place, and following the ways of the universePhilosophy East and West 53 (3): 291-307. 2003.: An appeal is made to the foot travels of Matsuo Basho, especially his 1689 journey to northern Japan, reflected in his Narrow Road to the Interior, as examples of wandering. It is suggested that while the travels of a poetwanderer such as Basho are notably distinct from shamanic travels in some respects, they are similar in other important ways, for example in their capacity to give perspective to our everyday experience. Based on Basho's example, three aspects of wandering are discussed that …Read more
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205Rock art aesthetics: Trace on rock, mark of spirit, window on landJournal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 57 (4): 451-458. 1999.
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110Nature, culture, and natural heritage: Toward a culture of natureEnvironmental Ethics 27 (4): 339-354. 2005.Nature and culture are usually treated as opposites. Nature, on this conception, is on the wane as a result of culture. A fresh analysis of the relation between these two terms in the light of the notion of “cultural landscapes” is needed. This account allows for nature to be understood as an important, distinctive category, even while granting the constitutive role of the culturally structured gaze. Culture and nature need not be conceived in opposition to each other, for it makes sense to spea…Read more
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109Aesthetic appreciation and the many stories about natureBritish Journal of Aesthetics 41 (2): 125-137. 2001.
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106Understanding performance art: Art beyond artBritish Journal of Aesthetics 31 (1): 68-73. 1991.
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86Rock art aesthetics and cultural appropriationJournal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 61 (1). 2003.
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80Nature Restoration Without DissimulationEssays in Philosophy 3 (1): 38-48. 2002.On the face of it, the expression "nature restoration" may seem an oxymoron, for one may ask whether it makes any sense to suppose that human beings could restore that which is not human. Several writers recently have argued that, strictly speaking, this is nonsense and, furthermore, that the conceptual confusion involved may lead to ethically problematic consequences. In this essay I begin by discussing the problematic perceived in the notion of nature restoration. I proceed to consider Japanes…Read more
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67Sacred ecology: Traditional knowledge and resource managementEnvironmental Ethics 22 (4): 419-421. 2000.
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55Journal Name: Apeiron Issue: Ahead of print
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54The Case for Environmental MoralityEnvironmental Ethics 25 (1): 5-24. 2003.Present environmental degradation has led some to argue that only an appeal to selfishness will “save the environment,” allegedly because appeals to “morality” necessarily are ineffective, while others have suggested that we need a “new, environmental ethic.” If we are interested in countering the degradation of the natural environment, we need to reconsider actual morality, how it is developed, and how it may take into account human activities affecting the natural world. Ultimately, we need to…Read more
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49Thinking through Botanic GardensEnvironmental Values 15 (2). 2006.This essay discusses ways of thinking about botanic gardens that pay close attention to their particularity as designed spaces, dependent on technique, that nonetheless purport to present (and preserve) natural entities (plants). I introduce an account of what gardens are, how botanic gardens differ from other gardens, and how this particular form of garden arose in history. After this I contrast three ways of understanding the function of botanic gardens in the present time: as sites of recreat…Read more
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37Themes in Latin American Environmental Ethics: Community, Resistance and AutonomyEnvironmental Values 13 (2). 2004.This paper seeks to answer the question how environmental ethics is approached in Latin America. I begin by discussing a suitable method for interpreting the question of whether there is a culturally based ethics, given that one may focus either on theory or on actually existing moral practices. Next, I consider some of the possible sources of Latin America's distinctiveness, namely its professional, cultural, and economic-historical particularities, followed by a discussion of the practice and …Read more
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31Sustainability, culture and ethics: Models from latin AmericaEthics, Place and Environment 8 (2). 2005.In order to develop sustainable relationships with the natural environment it is necessary to focus on approaches that may yield workable models of sustainability. Here I sample a few approaches from Latin America that point toward a promising model of sustainability. I argue that these approaches share the idea that the natural environment is in very close interdependence with human beings and their communities. I also outline the beliefs and practices of certain Latin American populations whic…Read more
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29Nature, Culture, and Natural Heritage: Toward a Culture of NatureEnvironmental Ethics 27 (4): 339-354. 2005.Nature and culture are usually treated as opposites. Nature, on this conception, is on the wane as a result of culture. A fresh analysis of the relation between these two terms in the light of the notion of “cultural landscapes” is needed. This account allows for nature to be understood as an important, distinctive category, even while granting the constitutive role of the culturally structured gaze. Culture and nature need not be conceived in opposition to each other, for it makes sense to spea…Read more
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23Indigenous knowledge, emancipation and AlienationKnowledge, Technology & Policy 8 (1): 63-73. 1995.
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23Culture and Climate ChangeProceedings of the Xxii World Congress of Philosophy 23 45-52. 2008.Physical science is coming to an increasingly clear understanding of natural environmental changes, their causes and their effects on the landscape. Human beings have lived through significant climate variability in historical periods, and through repeated periods of relatively sudden climate change, as well asmultiple other drastic natural events in prehistory. In this paper I propose that we should take into account the cultural dimension when considering adaptation to drastic natural events, …Read more
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20Relacionando cultura y naturalezaAzafea: Revista de Filosofia 10 (1). 2008.En las diferentes culturas del mundo, el ambiente natural se percibe de diversas maneras, y en muchas sociedades no se considera como opuestos lo natural y lo cultural. En cuanto que la integridad del medio ambiente natural se ha convertido en algo muy preocupante, hay que preguntarse cómo concebir lo cultural en relación a lo natural para llegar a relacionarnos adecuadamente con la naturaleza. En este ensayo propongo que la naturaleza constituye una categoría importante y distintiva, que puede …Read more
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20Reflections on reclamation through artEthics, Place and Environment 10 (3). 2007.Industrial interventions in the landscape leave their imprint in a permanent way, but there remain options on how to deal with land even at that point in time. In this essay, three alternatives are considered: leaving such sites as they are, restoring them to a condition resembling their original state, or transforming them into artworks. The author focuses in particular on the third option in order to determine to what degree it is possible for artistic reclamation to redeem such blights in the…Read more
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18Saber tradicional, ética de la tierra y sustentabilidadIsegoría 32. 2005.Éste ese! momento crucial para emprender formas de vida sustentables, por lo que resulta esencial adoptar una ética de la tierra que reconozca el valor intrínseco además del valor útil de los seres que pueblan nuestro medio ambiente natural. En este ensayo empiezo enfocando los obstáculos a que se enfrenta el desarrollo de una ética de la tierra, obstáculos que resultan ser el producto de conocimientos limitados y suposiciones equivocadas. En resolución de esas problemáticas prácticas apunto, pr…Read more
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18Pilgrimage Journeying in Matsuo Bashō and Alexander von HumboldtJournal of World Philosophies 4 (1): 23-35. 2019.In this paper I argue that the concept of pilgrimage provides a unifying trope for the otherwise seemingly unfocused travel accounts of Bashō’s Narrow Road to the Interior and Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland’s Voyage aux régions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent. I begin with a brief description of debates regarding the notion of pilgrimage. After that I show how pilgrimage as trope may be applied to the texts of these authors. This is followed by an application of the classical stag…Read more
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18The Intemperate Rainforest: Nature, Culture, and Power on Canada’s West CoastEnvironmental Ethics 26 (2): 205-208. 2004.
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17Symbolically Laden Sites in the Landscape and Climate ChangeEthics, Policy and Environment 17 (3): 355-369. 2014.Attention is drawn to the threat posed by climate change to symbolically laden places, landscapes and landmarks, and suggested that, insofar as some of those sites are treated as sacred by certain populations, their disturbance may be especially problematic. Special consideration is given to the significance glacial retreat for local, nearby populations, and its importance from the point of view of climate justice and ethics is discussed. The potential value of iconic sites from the perspective …Read more
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15Minding Nature: The Philosophers of Ecology David MacAuley New York: Guilford, 1996, viii + 355 pp., $18.95 (review)Dialogue 38 (1): 168-. 1999.
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15The Real and the Hyperreal: Dance and SimulacraThe Journal of Aesthetic Education 34 (2): 15. 2000.
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University of VictoriaDepartment of Philosophy
School of Environmental StudiesAdjunct Professor In School of Environmental Studies, Associate Fellow At Centre for Global Studies -
Universidad de La LagunaOther (Part-time)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Other Academic Areas |
History of Western Philosophy |
Metaphysics and Epistemology |