David Utsler - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Books by David Utsler
Paul Ricoeur and Environmental Philosophy expands the scope of Ricoeur's philosophy, especially h... more Paul Ricoeur and Environmental Philosophy expands the scope of Ricoeur's philosophy, especially his hermeneutics, to issues of environmental philosophy and our contemporary environmental crisis. David Utsler argues that, although Ricoeur himself was not an environmental philosopher, his work provides frameworks to reconsider our way of being-in-the-world as it pertains to our relationship with the environment. The unprecendented environmental crisis can be thought of as the result of interpretations—bad ones—and the crisis we now face requires the task of new and creative interpretation. This book discusses the ways in which Ricoeur's hermeneutics has the potential to restructure the discourse and dialogue surrounding environmental issues, and to creatively mediate the many conflicting interpretations that call for resolution. Utsler does not claim this text to be a comprehensive application of Ricoeur's work to environmental philosophy, as he believes there is still a great deal more of Ricoeur's philosophy from which to draw to enrich the growing field of environmental hermeneutics.
The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, an... more The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compelling issues of our time: how do humans relate to nature? Adopting a broad and inclusive view of “the environment, Interpreting Nature takes up restoration and preservation, natural and built environments, the social construction of nature and nature as it imposes itself beyond our categories, and much more. The rich diversity of contributions illustrates the remarkable fecundity of hermeneutic resources applied to environmental issues. Taken together, the various contributions to this collection mark the arrival of environmental hermeneutics as a distinct field of study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Environmental Hermeneutics
By David Utsler, Forrest Clingerman, Brian Treanor, and Martin Drenthen
SECTION I: INTERPRETATION AND THE TASK OF THINKING ENVIRONMENTALLY
Chapter 1: Hermeneutics Deep in the Woods
John van Buren, Fordham University
Chapter 2: " Morrow’s Ants: E. O. Wilson and Gadamer’s Critique of (Natural) Historicism"
Mick Smith, Queens University
Chapter 3: "Layering: Body, Building, Biography"
Robert Mugerauer, University of Washington
Chapter 4: "Might Nature Be Interpreted as a 'Saturated Phenomenon'?"
Christina M. Gschwandtner, University of Scranton
Chapter 5: "Must Environmental Philosophy Relinquish the Concept of Nature? A Hermeneutic Reply to Steven Vogel”
W. S. K. Cameron, Loyola Marymount University
SECTION II: ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HERMENEUTICS
A. SITUATING THE SELF
Chapter 6: "Environmental Hermeneutics and Environmental/Eco-Psychology: Explorations in Environmental Identity"
David Utsler, University of North Texas
Chapter 7: "Environmental Hermeneutics With and For Others: Ricoeur’s Ethics and The Ecological Self”
Nathan Bell, University of North Texas
Chapter 8: "Bodily Moods and Unhomely Environments: The Hermeneutics of Agoraphobia and the Spirit of Place”
Dylan Trigg, University of Sussex
B. NARRATIVITY AND IMAGE
Chapter 9: "Narrative and Nature: Appreciating and Understanding the Non-Human World"
Brian Treanor, Loyola Marymount University
Chapter 10: " The Question Concerning Nature"
Sean McGrath, Memorial University
Chapter 11: "New Nature Narratives: Landscape Hermeneutics and Environmental Ethics”
Martin Drenthen, Radboud University Nijmegen
C. ENVIRONMENTS, PLACE, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF TIME
Chapter 12: "Memory, Imagination, and the Hermeneutics of Place"
Forrest Clingerman, Ohio Northern University
Chapter 13: "The Betweenness of Monuments"
Janet Donohoe, University of West Georgia
Chapter 14: "My Place in the Sun"
David Wood, Vanderbilt University
Chapter 15: "How Hermeneutics Might Save the Life of (Environmental) Ethics"
Paul Van Tongeren, Radboud University Nijmegen and Paulien Snellen, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Papers by David Utsler
Fordham University Press eBooks, Nov 11, 2013
Routledge eBooks, Jun 16, 2022
Philosophy Today, 2009
... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think... more ... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think, is still trying to find its feet. ... In a true Ricoeurian spirit, anenvironmental hermeneutics would seek to mediate these conflicts. ...
Environmental Philosophy, 2012
Quaestiones disputatae, 2013
Routledge eBooks, Jun 16, 2022
The Review of Metaphysics
Philosophy Today, 2009
... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think... more ... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think, is still trying to find its feet. ... In a true Ricoeurian spirit, anenvironmental hermeneutics would seek to mediate these conflicts. ...
Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, 2021
Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on ph... more Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy--i.e. environmental hermeneutics. Grasping how a human understanding of environments is variously mediated and how different levels of meaning can be unconcealed permits deeper ways of looking at environmental ethics and human practices with regard to environments. Beyond supposed simple facts about environments to which humans supposedly rationally respond, environmental hermeneutics uncovers ways in which encounters with environments become meaningful. How we understand and, therefore, choose to act depends not so much on simple facts, but what those facts mean to our lives. Therefore, this dissertation explores three paths. The first is to justify the idea of an environmental hermeneutics with the hermeneutic tradition itself and what environmental hermeneutics is specifically. The second is to demonstrate the benefit of addressing...
Analecta Hermeneutica Vol. 13, 2021
Environmental hermeneutics is less concerned with the fact of the Anthropocene and more with the ... more Environmental hermeneutics is less concerned with the fact of the Anthropocene and more with the interpretation or understanding of the Anthropocene. It is one thing to designate this particular epoch with the term and quite another to explore what it means and, by extension, how we should act. If we do indeed reside in the Anthropocene, what will the world become? Both Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer emphasize that the task of hermeneutics is to speak to our present situation rather than to engage in some sort of recovery of the past. Ricoeur says, “to interpret is to explicate the type of being-in-the-world unfolded in front of the text.” Similarly, Gadamer explains: “Every interpretation has to adapt itself to the hermeneutical situation to which it belongs.” In this article we argue that the Anthropocene is a hermeneutical term. Indeed, designating a geological epoch with the term is already an interpretation. Since there is no static, single interpretation of anything that determines the course of thought or action, we have to ask ourselves, adapting to the hermeneutical situation to which we belong: What sorts of worlds might unfold in front of the Anthropocene, and in what sort of world might we imagine ourselves dwelling? The task of hermeneutics here (and in this case environmental hermeneutics in particular) is two-fold: 1) To demonstrate that the Anthropocene is not a term merely corresponding to a scientific set of facts but that those supposed neutral facts are understood and given meaning; and 2) to reflect upon how the Anthropocene, as a hermeneutical term, invites us to consider worlds that may unfold in front of the Anthropocene and our being-in-the-world that unfolds in front of it. What potential worlds do we wish to avoid, and which would we like to fashion?
Environmental Philosophy
One of Scott Cameron’s most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which ... more One of Scott Cameron’s most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which he was a founding scholar) was to defend the concept of nature against those who would argue that it should be abandoned in order to stave off the ecological destruction. Rather than jettison nature as an outdated and unhelpful construct, Cameron argued for its redemption based on Gadamer’s hermeneutical insights into language. In this article, I will look at Cameron’s arguments against Steven Vogel as well as particular points made against nature as a concept recently articulated by Slavoj Žižek and Timothy Morton. I will follow these arguments through, demonstrating that while the arguments can be accepted and are, indeed, accurate, the conclusion that the concept of nature be abandoned need not and should not be conceded. Finally, I will return to Cameron’s hermeneutic defense of a concept of nature and expand further on his insights and arguments. With Cameron, I conclude that the co...
Choice Reviews Online, 2014
ABSTRACT The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of ... more ABSTRACT The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compelling issues of our time: how do humans relate to nature? Adopting a broad and inclusive view of “the environment, Interpreting Nature takes up restoration and preservation, natural and built environments, the social construction of nature and nature as it imposes itself beyond our categories, and much more. The rich diversity of contributions illustrates the remarkable fecundity of hermeneutic resources applied to environmental issues. Taken together, the various contributions to this collection mark the arrival of environmental hermeneutics as a distinct field of study.
The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, an... more The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compell...
Paul Ricoeur and Environmental Philosophy expands the scope of Ricoeur's philosophy, especially h... more Paul Ricoeur and Environmental Philosophy expands the scope of Ricoeur's philosophy, especially his hermeneutics, to issues of environmental philosophy and our contemporary environmental crisis. David Utsler argues that, although Ricoeur himself was not an environmental philosopher, his work provides frameworks to reconsider our way of being-in-the-world as it pertains to our relationship with the environment. The unprecendented environmental crisis can be thought of as the result of interpretations—bad ones—and the crisis we now face requires the task of new and creative interpretation. This book discusses the ways in which Ricoeur's hermeneutics has the potential to restructure the discourse and dialogue surrounding environmental issues, and to creatively mediate the many conflicting interpretations that call for resolution. Utsler does not claim this text to be a comprehensive application of Ricoeur's work to environmental philosophy, as he believes there is still a great deal more of Ricoeur's philosophy from which to draw to enrich the growing field of environmental hermeneutics.
The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, an... more The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compelling issues of our time: how do humans relate to nature? Adopting a broad and inclusive view of “the environment, Interpreting Nature takes up restoration and preservation, natural and built environments, the social construction of nature and nature as it imposes itself beyond our categories, and much more. The rich diversity of contributions illustrates the remarkable fecundity of hermeneutic resources applied to environmental issues. Taken together, the various contributions to this collection mark the arrival of environmental hermeneutics as a distinct field of study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Environmental Hermeneutics
By David Utsler, Forrest Clingerman, Brian Treanor, and Martin Drenthen
SECTION I: INTERPRETATION AND THE TASK OF THINKING ENVIRONMENTALLY
Chapter 1: Hermeneutics Deep in the Woods
John van Buren, Fordham University
Chapter 2: " Morrow’s Ants: E. O. Wilson and Gadamer’s Critique of (Natural) Historicism"
Mick Smith, Queens University
Chapter 3: "Layering: Body, Building, Biography"
Robert Mugerauer, University of Washington
Chapter 4: "Might Nature Be Interpreted as a 'Saturated Phenomenon'?"
Christina M. Gschwandtner, University of Scranton
Chapter 5: "Must Environmental Philosophy Relinquish the Concept of Nature? A Hermeneutic Reply to Steven Vogel”
W. S. K. Cameron, Loyola Marymount University
SECTION II: ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HERMENEUTICS
A. SITUATING THE SELF
Chapter 6: "Environmental Hermeneutics and Environmental/Eco-Psychology: Explorations in Environmental Identity"
David Utsler, University of North Texas
Chapter 7: "Environmental Hermeneutics With and For Others: Ricoeur’s Ethics and The Ecological Self”
Nathan Bell, University of North Texas
Chapter 8: "Bodily Moods and Unhomely Environments: The Hermeneutics of Agoraphobia and the Spirit of Place”
Dylan Trigg, University of Sussex
B. NARRATIVITY AND IMAGE
Chapter 9: "Narrative and Nature: Appreciating and Understanding the Non-Human World"
Brian Treanor, Loyola Marymount University
Chapter 10: " The Question Concerning Nature"
Sean McGrath, Memorial University
Chapter 11: "New Nature Narratives: Landscape Hermeneutics and Environmental Ethics”
Martin Drenthen, Radboud University Nijmegen
C. ENVIRONMENTS, PLACE, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF TIME
Chapter 12: "Memory, Imagination, and the Hermeneutics of Place"
Forrest Clingerman, Ohio Northern University
Chapter 13: "The Betweenness of Monuments"
Janet Donohoe, University of West Georgia
Chapter 14: "My Place in the Sun"
David Wood, Vanderbilt University
Chapter 15: "How Hermeneutics Might Save the Life of (Environmental) Ethics"
Paul Van Tongeren, Radboud University Nijmegen and Paulien Snellen, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Fordham University Press eBooks, Nov 11, 2013
Routledge eBooks, Jun 16, 2022
Philosophy Today, 2009
... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think... more ... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think, is still trying to find its feet. ... In a true Ricoeurian spirit, anenvironmental hermeneutics would seek to mediate these conflicts. ...
Environmental Philosophy, 2012
Quaestiones disputatae, 2013
Routledge eBooks, Jun 16, 2022
The Review of Metaphysics
Philosophy Today, 2009
... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think... more ... From Environmental Philosophy to Environmental Hermeneutics Environmental philosophy, I think, is still trying to find its feet. ... In a true Ricoeurian spirit, anenvironmental hermeneutics would seek to mediate these conflicts. ...
Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, 2021
Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on ph... more Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy--i.e. environmental hermeneutics. Grasping how a human understanding of environments is variously mediated and how different levels of meaning can be unconcealed permits deeper ways of looking at environmental ethics and human practices with regard to environments. Beyond supposed simple facts about environments to which humans supposedly rationally respond, environmental hermeneutics uncovers ways in which encounters with environments become meaningful. How we understand and, therefore, choose to act depends not so much on simple facts, but what those facts mean to our lives. Therefore, this dissertation explores three paths. The first is to justify the idea of an environmental hermeneutics with the hermeneutic tradition itself and what environmental hermeneutics is specifically. The second is to demonstrate the benefit of addressing...
Analecta Hermeneutica Vol. 13, 2021
Environmental hermeneutics is less concerned with the fact of the Anthropocene and more with the ... more Environmental hermeneutics is less concerned with the fact of the Anthropocene and more with the interpretation or understanding of the Anthropocene. It is one thing to designate this particular epoch with the term and quite another to explore what it means and, by extension, how we should act. If we do indeed reside in the Anthropocene, what will the world become? Both Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer emphasize that the task of hermeneutics is to speak to our present situation rather than to engage in some sort of recovery of the past. Ricoeur says, “to interpret is to explicate the type of being-in-the-world unfolded in front of the text.” Similarly, Gadamer explains: “Every interpretation has to adapt itself to the hermeneutical situation to which it belongs.” In this article we argue that the Anthropocene is a hermeneutical term. Indeed, designating a geological epoch with the term is already an interpretation. Since there is no static, single interpretation of anything that determines the course of thought or action, we have to ask ourselves, adapting to the hermeneutical situation to which we belong: What sorts of worlds might unfold in front of the Anthropocene, and in what sort of world might we imagine ourselves dwelling? The task of hermeneutics here (and in this case environmental hermeneutics in particular) is two-fold: 1) To demonstrate that the Anthropocene is not a term merely corresponding to a scientific set of facts but that those supposed neutral facts are understood and given meaning; and 2) to reflect upon how the Anthropocene, as a hermeneutical term, invites us to consider worlds that may unfold in front of the Anthropocene and our being-in-the-world that unfolds in front of it. What potential worlds do we wish to avoid, and which would we like to fashion?
Environmental Philosophy
One of Scott Cameron’s most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which ... more One of Scott Cameron’s most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which he was a founding scholar) was to defend the concept of nature against those who would argue that it should be abandoned in order to stave off the ecological destruction. Rather than jettison nature as an outdated and unhelpful construct, Cameron argued for its redemption based on Gadamer’s hermeneutical insights into language. In this article, I will look at Cameron’s arguments against Steven Vogel as well as particular points made against nature as a concept recently articulated by Slavoj Žižek and Timothy Morton. I will follow these arguments through, demonstrating that while the arguments can be accepted and are, indeed, accurate, the conclusion that the concept of nature be abandoned need not and should not be conceded. Finally, I will return to Cameron’s hermeneutic defense of a concept of nature and expand further on his insights and arguments. With Cameron, I conclude that the co...
Choice Reviews Online, 2014
ABSTRACT The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of ... more ABSTRACT The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compelling issues of our time: how do humans relate to nature? Adopting a broad and inclusive view of “the environment, Interpreting Nature takes up restoration and preservation, natural and built environments, the social construction of nature and nature as it imposes itself beyond our categories, and much more. The rich diversity of contributions illustrates the remarkable fecundity of hermeneutic resources applied to environmental issues. Taken together, the various contributions to this collection mark the arrival of environmental hermeneutics as a distinct field of study.
The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, an... more The twentieth century saw the rise of hermeneutics, the philosophical interpretation of texts, and eventually the application of its insights to metaphorical “texts” such as individual and group identities. It also saw the rise of modern environmentalism, which evolved through various stages in which it came to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory that are viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task. Interpreting Nature brings together leading voices at the intersection of these two increasingly important philosophical discussions: philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy. The resulting field, environmental hermeneutics, provides the center of gravity for a collection of essays that grapple with one of the most compell...
Utsler--Dissertation, 2019
Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on ph... more Recent years have seen a growing interest in and the publication of more formal scholarship on philosophical hermeneutics and environmental philosophy--i.e. environmentalbvhermeneutics. Grasping how a human understanding of environments is variously mediated and how different levels of meaning can be unconcealed permits deeper ways of looking at
environmental ethics and human practices with regard to environments. Beyond supposed simple facts about environments to which humans supposedly rationally respond, environmental hermeneutics uncovers ways in which encounters with environments become meaningful. How
we understand and, therefore, choose to act depends not so much on simple facts, but what those facts mean to our lives. Therefore, this dissertation explores three paths. The first is to justify the idea of an environmental hermeneutics with the hermeneutic tradition itself and what environmental hermeneutics is specifically. The second is to demonstrate the benefit of addressing environmental hermeneutics to environmental philosophy. I do this in this dissertation with regard to the debate between anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism, a debate which plays a central role in questions of environmental philosophy and ethics. Thirdly, I turn to environmental justice studies where I contend there are complementarities between hermeneutics and environmental justice. From this reality, environmental justice and activism benefit from
exploring environmental justice more deeply in light of philosophical hermeneutics. This dissertation is oriented toward a continuing dialogical relation between philosophical hermeneutics and environments insofar as environments are meaningful.
Also available at: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1538781/
Environmental Philosophy, 2018
One of Scott Cameron's most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which ... more One of Scott Cameron's most recent contributions to environmental hermeneutics (a field in which he was a founding scholar) was to defend the concept of nature against those who would argue that it should be abandoned in order to stave off the ecological destruction. Rather than jettison nature as an outdated and unhelpful construct, Cameron argued for its redemption based on Gadamer's hermeneutical insights into language.
Epistemic Injustice and the Philosophy of Recognition , 2022
The individual work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Miranda Fricker, and Axel Honneth each stands on its o... more The individual work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Miranda Fricker, and Axel Honneth each stands on its own as important contributions to a theory of mutual recognition. Our chapter will explore, however, the complementarity that exists between the three. We contend that Gadamer, Fricker, and Honneth together serve to more fully explain and expound a theory of mutual recognition. We begin by examining Gadamer’s groundbreaking understanding of the positive aspect of prejudice as inescapable pre-judgments that we have as historical beings – a view that critiques the exclusively negative view of prejudice in Enlightenment rationalism. We then turn to Fricker’s notion of testimonial injustice followed by an analysis of the complementarity among Gadamer and Fricker. Finally, we briefly look at Honneth on the importance of what he calls “social esteem” for a theory of mutual recognition, in which he folds social esteem into prejudice and testimonial injustice. Although Fricker does not appeal to Gadamer in her examination of the role of prejudice in either testimonial or hermeneutical injustice, their respective projects disclose several intersecting themes and concerns. In addition, Fricker’s focus on instances where dialogical engagement breaks down or fails beneficially expands Gadamer’s analyses of prejudice and his emphasis on what is required for genuine dialogue. Conversely, Gadamer’s emphasis on openness and anticipatory listening complements Fricker’s account. Gadamer’s understanding of prejudgments as integral to our historical being and as having a positive, productive role is resonant with a number of Fricker’s claims and, if more explicitly accepted and developed, would alleviate concerns that Linda Martín Alcoff and Georgia Warnke have respectively voiced regarding Fricker’s appeals to neutrality. Honneth explicates three kinds of recognition and how the first two, recognition as love and recognition as rights, fall short of the demands of political and social justice. Only when a “social addressee” is given “social esteem”¬ – a form of recognition that respects difference and accepts others as full participants in social life within their differences – can mutual recognition serve justice fully.
Review of Neyrat, The Unconstructable Earth, 2020
François Lyotard, in his book The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, defined postmodern... more François Lyotard, in his book The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, defined postmodernism "as incredulity toward metanarratives" that seek to legitimate knowledge. A metanarrative (or grand narrative) is used by science as a "discourse of legitimation with respect to its own status.. . ." Lyotard's text was first published in French in 1979 and then translated into English in 1984. Referencing a metadiscourse to legitimate a program promising a good outcome for the world is a practice, it would seem, that has not changed since that time. In The Unconstructable Earth, Frédéric Neyrat expresses his own incredulity toward what he perceives as the grand narrative of our time: the Anthropocene. He writes, "From now on, we can define the Anthropocene as a grand narrative seeking legitimatization for the installation of a global, pilotable, management machine." The "voracious discourse" that makes up this grand narrative is geo-constructivism. For the geo-constructivist, there is no nature to which we must adhere in any way. Technology and engineering have superseded nature and humans can determine what spaceship Earth will become. Further, there is no environmental problem caused by technology that we cannot also fix with technology. The Earth can be reconstructed according to our design. Many see the Anthropocene simply referring to an epoch in which human activity has now become a major force on the planet. Our response to this reality should be to counter the impact we humans have on the planet. However, for Neyrat, the Anthropocene is the grand narrative of the geo-constructivists and others to legitimize a radical conquest of Earth to construct it as we will and this activity is presented as the ultimate meaning for the future of humanity. As the antidote to this grand narrative of the Anthropocene, Neyrat will propose an "ecology of separation," that is, an approach that recognizes the interconnection of all beings (human and non-human), but overcoming a "generalized" idea of interconnection that fails to recognize the "distance" between humans and nature. The text is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to explaining geo-constructivism and the Anthropocene that sees the Earth as entirely constructible and subject to the power of technological advance. The second addresses eco-constructivism that, while holding to the ecological principle of a generalized interconnection of all things, also holds to the idea of the "death of nature" and that there is no nature that is given. All things can be constructed and reconstructed. As such, eco-constructivism easily aligns itself with the aims of the geo-constructivists. Finally, the third section proposes the ecology of separation that, for Neyrat, is the best hope of countering the grand narrative of geo-constructivism. As Neyrat points out in various places throughout the text, the question of the Anthropocene is not only an ontological one, but a political one. For example, in the introduction to the first section he notes: "Where activists for climate justice are pleading for politically changing the economic system leading to the technoindustrial modification of the climate, climate engineering proposes technologically changing the climate so as to not change the political system already in place." In the four chapters that follow, Neyrat lays out the geoconstructivist view of the world as well as its ideological and political/economic commitments. The second section (chapters 5-9) is devoted to eco-constructivism. For the eco-constructivists, there is no nature as such, so there is nothing to preserve. Rather, nature is humanly constructed. Although holding to the idea of the interconnection of all things, eco-constructivism all too easily aligns itself with the vision of geoconstructivism, especially the notion that technology alone can provide the solutions to all our environmental problems. Hence, there is no need to change the system that is the heart of the problem. The third and final section (chapters 10-13) explains the "ecology of separation." Neyrat does not dismiss the ecological principle of the interconnection of all things. What, then, is the kind of separation to which he refers? He makes the distinction between a radical rupture or "splitting" versus a separation, by which he means understanding the distinction between humans and other beings. All things are interconnected, but without a recognition of difference there is little point to speaking of being connected. The Unconstructable Earth: An Ecology of Separation is a very methodically laid out and well-reasoned text. Many of its arguments can be provocative and will be sure to engender debate among the variety of philosophies that it addresses. This text should be of interest to those working in the areas of climate change, geoengineering, environmental philosophy and ethics, the economics of climate change, and environmental studies generally.-David Utsler, North Central Texas College
Analecta Hermeneutica, 2021
In this article we argue that the Anthropocene is a hermeneutical term. Indeed, designating a geo... more In this article we argue that the Anthropocene is a hermeneutical term. Indeed, designating a geological epoch with the term is already an interpretation. Since there is no static, single interpretation of anything that determines the course of thought or action, we have to ask ourselves, adapting to the hermeneutical situation to which we belong: What sorts of worlds might unfold in front of the Anthropocene, and in what sort of world might we imagine ourselves dwelling? The task of hermeneutics here
(and in this case environmental hermeneutics in particular) is two-fold: 1) To demonstrate that the Anthropocene is not a term merely corresponding to a scientific set of facts but that those supposed neutral facts are understood and given meaning; and 2) to reflect upon how the Anthropocene, as a hermeneutical term, invites us to consider worlds that may unfold in front of the Anthropocene and our being-in-the-world that unfolds in front of it. What potential worlds do we wish to avoid, and which
would we like to fashion?