Thoreau's Living Ethics

Thoreau's Living Ethics

Author: Philip Cafaro

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 2010-01-25

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0820336661

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Thoreau's Living Ethics is the first full, rigorous account of Henry Thoreau's ethical philosophy. Focused on Walden but ranging widely across his writings, the study situates Thoreau within a long tradition of ethical thinking in the West, from the ancients to the Romantics and on to the present day. Philip Cafaro shows Thoreau grappling with important ethical questions that agitated his own society and discusses his value for those seeking to understand contemporary ethical issues. Cafaro's particular interest is in Thoreau's treatment of virtue ethics: the branch of ethics centered on personal and social flourishing. Ranging across the central elements of Thoreau's philosophy—life, virtue, economy, solitude and society, nature, and politics—Cafaro shows Thoreau developing a comprehensive virtue ethics, less based in ancient philosophy than many recent efforts and more grounded in modern life and experience. He presents Thoreau's evolutionary, experimental ethics as superior to the more static foundational efforts of current virtue ethicists. Another main focus is Thoreau's environmental ethics. The book shows Thoreau not only anticipating recent arguments for wild nature's intrinsic value, but also demonstrating how a personal connection to nature furthers self-development, moral character, knowledge, and creativity. Thoreau's life and writings, argues Cafaro, present a positive, life-affirming environmental ethics, combining respect and restraint with an appreciation for human possibilities for flourishing within nature.


Book Synopsis Thoreau's Living Ethics by : Philip Cafaro

Download or read book Thoreau's Living Ethics written by Philip Cafaro and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2010-01-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoreau's Living Ethics is the first full, rigorous account of Henry Thoreau's ethical philosophy. Focused on Walden but ranging widely across his writings, the study situates Thoreau within a long tradition of ethical thinking in the West, from the ancients to the Romantics and on to the present day. Philip Cafaro shows Thoreau grappling with important ethical questions that agitated his own society and discusses his value for those seeking to understand contemporary ethical issues. Cafaro's particular interest is in Thoreau's treatment of virtue ethics: the branch of ethics centered on personal and social flourishing. Ranging across the central elements of Thoreau's philosophy—life, virtue, economy, solitude and society, nature, and politics—Cafaro shows Thoreau developing a comprehensive virtue ethics, less based in ancient philosophy than many recent efforts and more grounded in modern life and experience. He presents Thoreau's evolutionary, experimental ethics as superior to the more static foundational efforts of current virtue ethicists. Another main focus is Thoreau's environmental ethics. The book shows Thoreau not only anticipating recent arguments for wild nature's intrinsic value, but also demonstrating how a personal connection to nature furthers self-development, moral character, knowledge, and creativity. Thoreau's life and writings, argues Cafaro, present a positive, life-affirming environmental ethics, combining respect and restraint with an appreciation for human possibilities for flourishing within nature.

Thoreau's Nature

Thoreau's Nature

Author: Jane Bennett

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780742521414

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Thoreau's Nature: Ethics, Politics, and the Wild explores how Thoreau crafted a life open to 'the Wild,' a term that marks the startling element of foreignness in every object of experience, however familiar. Thoreau's encounters with nature, Bennett argues, allowed him to resist his all-too-human tendency toward intellectual laziness, social conformity, and political complacency. Bennett pursues this theme by constructing a series of dialogues between Thoreau and our contemporaries: Foucault on identity and power, Haraway on the nature/culture of division, Hollywood celebrities on the Walden Woods Project, the National Endowment for the Humanities on politics and art, and Kafka on the question of political idealism. The pertinence to the late 20th century of Thoreau's pursuit of independent judgment, ecological foresight, and moral nobility becomes apparent through these engagements.


Book Synopsis Thoreau's Nature by : Jane Bennett

Download or read book Thoreau's Nature written by Jane Bennett and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2002 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoreau's Nature: Ethics, Politics, and the Wild explores how Thoreau crafted a life open to 'the Wild,' a term that marks the startling element of foreignness in every object of experience, however familiar. Thoreau's encounters with nature, Bennett argues, allowed him to resist his all-too-human tendency toward intellectual laziness, social conformity, and political complacency. Bennett pursues this theme by constructing a series of dialogues between Thoreau and our contemporaries: Foucault on identity and power, Haraway on the nature/culture of division, Hollywood celebrities on the Walden Woods Project, the National Endowment for the Humanities on politics and art, and Kafka on the question of political idealism. The pertinence to the late 20th century of Thoreau's pursuit of independent judgment, ecological foresight, and moral nobility becomes apparent through these engagements.

Henry David Thoreau and the Moral Agency of Knowing

Henry David Thoreau and the Moral Agency of Knowing

Author: Alfred I. Tauber

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2003-05

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0520239156

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"Tauber's book is encyclopedic—not only a revealing and comprehensive study of Thoreau but also a full vision of the Romantic Weltanschauung and its relevance to contemporary concerns in philosophy, science, and poetics. While this scope is wildly ambitious, Tauber admirably delivers, always informing his parts with the whole, consistently altering the whole with his parts."—Eric Wilson, author of Emerson's Sublime Science "In arguing for the centrally moral and ethical value of Thoreau's works, Tauber is taking a brave stance in these slippery postmodern times…. It's one thing to praise Thoreau for his opposition to the Mexican War, his philosophy of passive resistance, and his fervent opposition to slavery. It's quite another to argue that his entire project—his whole sense of identity, self-formation, and his relation to nature—is part of a deeply moral enterprise….Thoreau's modernity has been defined in many ways in recent years. Tauber adds another important and distinctive dimension to this discussion."—H. Daniel Peck, John Guy Vassar Professor of English, Vassar College


Book Synopsis Henry David Thoreau and the Moral Agency of Knowing by : Alfred I. Tauber

Download or read book Henry David Thoreau and the Moral Agency of Knowing written by Alfred I. Tauber and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-05 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tauber's book is encyclopedic—not only a revealing and comprehensive study of Thoreau but also a full vision of the Romantic Weltanschauung and its relevance to contemporary concerns in philosophy, science, and poetics. While this scope is wildly ambitious, Tauber admirably delivers, always informing his parts with the whole, consistently altering the whole with his parts."—Eric Wilson, author of Emerson's Sublime Science "In arguing for the centrally moral and ethical value of Thoreau's works, Tauber is taking a brave stance in these slippery postmodern times…. It's one thing to praise Thoreau for his opposition to the Mexican War, his philosophy of passive resistance, and his fervent opposition to slavery. It's quite another to argue that his entire project—his whole sense of identity, self-formation, and his relation to nature—is part of a deeply moral enterprise….Thoreau's modernity has been defined in many ways in recent years. Tauber adds another important and distinctive dimension to this discussion."—H. Daniel Peck, John Guy Vassar Professor of English, Vassar College

Thoreau's Importance for Philosophy

Thoreau's Importance for Philosophy

Author: Rick Anthony Furtak

Publisher: Fordham Univ Press

Published: 2012-08-14

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0823239306

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Although Henry David Thoreau's best-known book, Walden, is admired as a classic work of American literature, it has not yet been widely recognized as an important philosophical text. In fact, many academic philosophers would be reluctant to classify Thoreau as a philosopher at all. The purpose of this volume is to remedy this neglect, to explain Thoreau's philosophical significance, and to argue that we can still learn from his polemical conception of philosophy.Thoreau sought to establish philosophy as a way of life and to root our philosophical, conceptual affairs in more practical or existential concerns. His work provides us with a sustained meditation on the importance of leading our lives with integrity, avoiding what he calls "quiet desperation." The contributors to this volume approach Thoreau's writings from different angles. They explore his aesthetic views, his naturalism, his theory of self, his ethical principles, and his political stances. Most importantly, they show how Thoreau returns philosophy to its roots as the love of wisdom.


Book Synopsis Thoreau's Importance for Philosophy by : Rick Anthony Furtak

Download or read book Thoreau's Importance for Philosophy written by Rick Anthony Furtak and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2012-08-14 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although Henry David Thoreau's best-known book, Walden, is admired as a classic work of American literature, it has not yet been widely recognized as an important philosophical text. In fact, many academic philosophers would be reluctant to classify Thoreau as a philosopher at all. The purpose of this volume is to remedy this neglect, to explain Thoreau's philosophical significance, and to argue that we can still learn from his polemical conception of philosophy.Thoreau sought to establish philosophy as a way of life and to root our philosophical, conceptual affairs in more practical or existential concerns. His work provides us with a sustained meditation on the importance of leading our lives with integrity, avoiding what he calls "quiet desperation." The contributors to this volume approach Thoreau's writings from different angles. They explore his aesthetic views, his naturalism, his theory of self, his ethical principles, and his political stances. Most importantly, they show how Thoreau returns philosophy to its roots as the love of wisdom.

Thoreau's Religion

Thoreau's Religion

Author: Alda Balthrop-Lewis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-01-21

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1108835104

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Boldly reconfigures Walden for contemporary ethics and politics by recovering Thoreau's theological vision of environmental justice.


Book Synopsis Thoreau's Religion by : Alda Balthrop-Lewis

Download or read book Thoreau's Religion written by Alda Balthrop-Lewis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-21 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boldly reconfigures Walden for contemporary ethics and politics by recovering Thoreau's theological vision of environmental justice.

Natural Life

Natural Life

Author: David Robinson

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780801443138

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Robinson tells the story of a mind at work, focusing on Thoreau's idea of "natural life" as both a subject of study and a model for personal growth and ethical purpose. "The best, most thoughtful, most carefully worked out account of Thoreau's major ideas."--Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of "Emerson: The Mind on Fire"


Book Synopsis Natural Life by : David Robinson

Download or read book Natural Life written by David Robinson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robinson tells the story of a mind at work, focusing on Thoreau's idea of "natural life" as both a subject of study and a model for personal growth and ethical purpose. "The best, most thoughtful, most carefully worked out account of Thoreau's major ideas."--Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of "Emerson: The Mind on Fire"

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

Author: Laura Dassow Walls

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2017-07-07

Total Pages: 668

ISBN-13: 022634469X

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"[The author] traces the full arc of Thoreau’s life, from his early days in the intellectual hothouse of Concord, when the American experiment still felt fresh and precarious, and 'America was a family affair, earned by one generation and about to pass to the next.' By the time he died in 1862, at only forty-four years of age, Thoreau had witnessed the transformation of his world from a community of farmers and artisans into a bustling, interconnected commercial nation. What did that portend for the contemplative individual and abundant, wild nature that Thoreau celebrated? Drawing on Thoreau’s copious writings, published and unpublished, [the author] presents a Thoreau vigorously alive in all his quirks and contradictions: the young man shattered by the sudden death of his brother; the ambitious Harvard College student; the ecstatic visionary who closed Walden with an account of the regenerative power of the Cosmos. We meet the man whose belief in human freedom and the value of labor made him an uncompromising abolitionist; the solitary walker who found society in nature, but also found his own nature in the society of which he was a deeply interwoven part. And, running through it all, Thoreau the passionate naturalist, who, long before the age of environmentalism, saw tragedy for future generations in the human heedlessness around him."--


Book Synopsis Henry David Thoreau by : Laura Dassow Walls

Download or read book Henry David Thoreau written by Laura Dassow Walls and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-07-07 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[The author] traces the full arc of Thoreau’s life, from his early days in the intellectual hothouse of Concord, when the American experiment still felt fresh and precarious, and 'America was a family affair, earned by one generation and about to pass to the next.' By the time he died in 1862, at only forty-four years of age, Thoreau had witnessed the transformation of his world from a community of farmers and artisans into a bustling, interconnected commercial nation. What did that portend for the contemplative individual and abundant, wild nature that Thoreau celebrated? Drawing on Thoreau’s copious writings, published and unpublished, [the author] presents a Thoreau vigorously alive in all his quirks and contradictions: the young man shattered by the sudden death of his brother; the ambitious Harvard College student; the ecstatic visionary who closed Walden with an account of the regenerative power of the Cosmos. We meet the man whose belief in human freedom and the value of labor made him an uncompromising abolitionist; the solitary walker who found society in nature, but also found his own nature in the society of which he was a deeply interwoven part. And, running through it all, Thoreau the passionate naturalist, who, long before the age of environmentalism, saw tragedy for future generations in the human heedlessness around him."--

Live Deep and Suck all the Marrow of Life: H.D. Thoreau's Literary Legacy

Live Deep and Suck all the Marrow of Life: H.D. Thoreau's Literary Legacy

Author: María Laura Arce Álvarez

Publisher: Vernon Press

Published: 2020-07-07

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1648890075

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Considered to be one of America’s great intellectuals, Thoreau was deeply engaged in some of the most important social debates of his day including slavery, the emergence of consumerism, the American Dream, living on the frontier, the role of the government and the ecological mind. As testimony to Thoreau’s remarkable intellectual heritage, his autobiography, essays and poetry still continue to inspire and attract readers from across the globe. As a celebration of H.D. Thoreau’s Bicentenary (1817-1862), this edited volume offers a re-reading of his works and reconsiders the influence that his transcendentalist philosophy has had on American culture and literature. Taking an intertextual perspective, the contributors to this volume seek to reveal Thoreau’s influence on American Literature and Arts from the 19th century onwards and his fundamental contribution to the development of 20th century American Literature. In particular, this work presents previously unconsidered intertextual analyses of authors that have been influenced by Thoreau’s writings. This volume also reveals how Thoreau’s influence can be read across literary genres and even seen in visual manifestations such as cinema.


Book Synopsis Live Deep and Suck all the Marrow of Life: H.D. Thoreau's Literary Legacy by : María Laura Arce Álvarez

Download or read book Live Deep and Suck all the Marrow of Life: H.D. Thoreau's Literary Legacy written by María Laura Arce Álvarez and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Considered to be one of America’s great intellectuals, Thoreau was deeply engaged in some of the most important social debates of his day including slavery, the emergence of consumerism, the American Dream, living on the frontier, the role of the government and the ecological mind. As testimony to Thoreau’s remarkable intellectual heritage, his autobiography, essays and poetry still continue to inspire and attract readers from across the globe. As a celebration of H.D. Thoreau’s Bicentenary (1817-1862), this edited volume offers a re-reading of his works and reconsiders the influence that his transcendentalist philosophy has had on American culture and literature. Taking an intertextual perspective, the contributors to this volume seek to reveal Thoreau’s influence on American Literature and Arts from the 19th century onwards and his fundamental contribution to the development of 20th century American Literature. In particular, this work presents previously unconsidered intertextual analyses of authors that have been influenced by Thoreau’s writings. This volume also reveals how Thoreau’s influence can be read across literary genres and even seen in visual manifestations such as cinema.

Walden and Civil Disobedience

Walden and Civil Disobedience

Author: Henry David Thoreau

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2004-06-29

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 0743487729

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Naturalist and philosopher Thoreau's timeless essays on the role of humanity—in the world of nature, and in society and government. Thoreau, a sturdy individualist and nature lover, lived a spare existence in a wooden hut on the edge of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, from 1845 to 1847. "Walden" is the fruit of Thoreau's two-year stay on the Walden Pond. It is a record of his experiment in a simple life and his contemplation of the wonders of nature and the ways of man. He carefully shaped the book to follow the natural cycle of the seasons, yet it is more than an account of life in the woods, it is a quest for personal freedom and individuality that evokes nature without being sentimental or distorting the natural world. "Civil Disobedience" was also based on Thoreau's experiences during the period he lived on the pond. In 1846, he was arrested for not having paid his poll tax, as a way of demonstrating that he did not recognize the authority of a government that "buys and sells men, women, and children." It is a treatise against slavery and a government that wages war to support injustice. This edition includes: -A concise introduction that gives readers important background information -A chronology of the author's life and work -A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context -An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations -Detailed explanatory notes -Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work -Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction -A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.


Book Synopsis Walden and Civil Disobedience by : Henry David Thoreau

Download or read book Walden and Civil Disobedience written by Henry David Thoreau and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-06-29 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Naturalist and philosopher Thoreau's timeless essays on the role of humanity—in the world of nature, and in society and government. Thoreau, a sturdy individualist and nature lover, lived a spare existence in a wooden hut on the edge of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, from 1845 to 1847. "Walden" is the fruit of Thoreau's two-year stay on the Walden Pond. It is a record of his experiment in a simple life and his contemplation of the wonders of nature and the ways of man. He carefully shaped the book to follow the natural cycle of the seasons, yet it is more than an account of life in the woods, it is a quest for personal freedom and individuality that evokes nature without being sentimental or distorting the natural world. "Civil Disobedience" was also based on Thoreau's experiences during the period he lived on the pond. In 1846, he was arrested for not having paid his poll tax, as a way of demonstrating that he did not recognize the authority of a government that "buys and sells men, women, and children." It is a treatise against slavery and a government that wages war to support injustice. This edition includes: -A concise introduction that gives readers important background information -A chronology of the author's life and work -A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context -An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations -Detailed explanatory notes -Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work -Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction -A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

Walden

Walden

Author: Henry David Thoreau

Publisher:

Published: 1906

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Walden by : Henry David Thoreau

Download or read book Walden written by Henry David Thoreau and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: