Climate Change and Philosophy Transformational Possibilities

by Irwin, Ruth

• ISBN13: 9781441186867
• ISBN10: 1441186867
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-22
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Climate Change and Philosophy presents ten original essays by an international team of expert contributors, exploring the important contribution philosophical inquiry can make to contemporary debates to do with climate change and the global environment. Examining this hugely topical issue through the lens of environmental philosophy, political theory, philosophy of technology, philosophy of education and feminist theory, these essays interrogate some of the presumptions that inform modernity and our interaction with natural processes. The book asks fundamental questions about human nature and, more importantly, the concept of 'nature' itself. The conceptual frameworks presented here contribute to an understanding of the processes of change, of social transformation, and the means of adapting to the constraints that problems such as climate change pose. The book proposes a way of beginning the important task of rethinking the relationship between humanity and the natural environment. Through enquiry into the basic philosophical principles that inform modern society, each author asserts that reflection informs change and that change is both required and possible in the context of the environmental crisis facing us today. >

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Introduction Part I: Questioning Modernity 1. Climate Change, Civil Progress, and Rational Evolution, Martin Schönfeld (University of South Florida, USA) 2. Nature in the Active Voice, Val Plumwood (Australian National University, Australia) 3. Climate Change and Nihilism: Living in the Zone of Nihilism, Ruth Irwin (University of Auckland, New Zealand) Part II: Transforming Global Politics 4. Transforming Worldviews to Cope with a Changing Climate, Leo Elshof (Acadia University, Canada) 5. Education at the End of Nature: Learning to Cope with Climate Change, Timothy Luke (Virginia Tech, USA) 6. Education Against Climate Change: Information and Technological Focus Are Not Enough, Edgar González Gaudiano (Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico) Part III: Global Environmental Justice 7. Global Climate Change, Adaptation and Abatement in a Context of Risk and Vulnerability, Leslie LeGrange (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) and Heila Lotz-Sisitka (Rhodes University, South Africa) 8. Gender and Climate Change: An Environmental Justice Perspective, Patricia Glazebrook (Dalhousie University, Canada) Part IV: Liberal Responsibility 9. Mediated Responsibilities, Global Warming and the Scope of Ethics, Robin Attfield (Cardiff University, UK) 10. Transforming Attitudes to Environmental Law in Light of Climate Change, Murray Sheard (Director of Professional Integrity Training, Tiri, UK) Bibliography Index