Humans as "Part and Parcel of Nature": Thoreau's Contribution to Environmental Ethics (original) (raw)
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Thoreau's Ecocriticism: An Improved Means to Unimproved Ends
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I read Henry David Thoreau as an environmental virtue theorist. In this paper, I use Thoreau’s work as a tool to explore the relation between the virtue of greatness of soul and environmental virtues. Reflecting on connections between Thoreau’s texts and historical discussions of greatness of soul, or magnanimity, I offer a novel conception of magnanimity. I argue that (1) to become magnanimous, most individuals need to acquire the environmental virtue of simplicity; and (2) magnanimous individuals must possess the environmental virtue of benevolence in order to achieve their goals.
The Free Cypress: Thoreau's Ambivalent Ecophilosophy in Walden.doc
On the title page of Waldens initial edition is printed an unobtrusive little wooden hut shaded by trees. Now nearly one hundred and seventy years have elapsed since its builder left it on a common late summers day, and if he should live to witness the endless succession of pilgrims revering his cabin and its surroundings as a Mecca, perhaps he would be a little bit surprised at first, and then quickly resume his usual aplomb, contented at heart. The life experiment initiated by Henry D. Thoreau alongside Walden Pond in 1845 has evolved into a profound symbol, embodying his lifestyle, spiritual pursuit and philosophy. It may be the case that those visitors come to seek for some sort of illumination: how on earth can one, as Thoreau proclaimed, live deep and suck out all the marrow of life (Walden 91).
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN THE SELECT WORKS OF HENRY DAVID THOREAU AND ARUN JOSHI
Literature plays a vital role in the lives of every human. It focuses on every aspect of human life. Through literature one can identify his cultural tradition. It not only brings out positive and negative changes made by human from the ancient time but also gives remedy for the problems of the people in their daily life. Protecting environment is one of the main focuses in environmental literature. From nineteenth century onwards people witnessed enormous growth in environment literature that tried to create environmental awareness among the people because literature can be a powerful medium for creating awareness for the existing environmental crisis. Environmental criticism has alternative names as Ecocriticism and Green studies. " Ecocriticism was a term coined in late 1970s by combining criticism with a shorten form of ecology the science that investigates the interrelation of all forms of plant and animal life with each other and with their physical habits ". 1 This present study aims to bring out the importance of nature in human's life and show a path to return to nature. In order to escape from this giant environmental crisis the American writer Henry David Thoreau and Arun Joshi an Indian writer provides a comfortable solution. Thoreau's Walden and Arun Joshi's The Strange Case of Billy Biswas represent the significance of nature and both insist that one can never lead a peaceful life by destroying nature. This present study aims to bring out the importance of nature in human's life and show a path to return to nature.
Exemplars in Environmental Ethics: Taking Seriously the Lives of Thoreau, Leopold, Dillard and Abbey
It is argued that certain individuals can and should be considered ‘morally exemplary’ with respect to the environment. This can be so even where there is no universally applicable ethical principle they employ, and no canonical set of virtues they exhibit. The author identifies Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, Annie Dillard and Edward Abbey as potential ‘environmental exemplars,’ focusing for the purposes of the essay on individuals who have written compelling autobiographical works in defense of a way of life that is both attuned to the values of a particular place and attentive to the humanistic concerns that have more traditionally been the locus of ethical thought.
Deep Ecological Consciousness and Interconnectedness between Humans and Nature in Thoreau’s Poems
KMC Journal
Deep ecological criticism emphasizes the biocentric approach to analyze the literary texts, whereas the anthropocentric approach is human-centric. Therefore, the major purpose of this study is to bring balance to the ecosystem between humans and nature by analyzing Thoreau’s poetry from a biocentric point of view. It relooks radically the relationship between humans and nature on deeper level because the extreme human-centric development has been inviting many ecological crises. Therefore, this paper critically discusses, analyzes, and interprets Henry David Thoreau’s selected poems from a deep ecological perspective to explore the deep ecological consciousness and interconnectedness between humans and nature. Deep ecology is a new perception against anthropocentric ideas, which proposes a new solution and visualizes the inexorable current ecological challenges. Thoreau is a transcendentalist poet, his poetry expresses the profound interconnectedness between humans and nature which ...
Nature in Emerson and Thoreau: A Mirror for the Individual
Nature is among the most fundamental characteristics of the American Transcendentalist Movement of the early nineteenth century. Ralph Waldo Emerson's seminal essay Nature, published in 1836, would lay the groundwork the Transcendentalist approach to understanding the universe. His essay articulates the manner in which many Transcendentalists would come to view Nature. For Emerson, Nature was a problem to be solved by the human consciousness. The answer to the question, Emerson believed, is a moral spirituality discovered by the individual through experiencing Nature. However, Emerson's view of Nature looks at how Nature can be of use to man; in this sense, Nature becomes a character whose value is contingent upon "its ministry to man." 1 Emerson creates a hierarchy of the benefits man extracts from Nature by dividing its uses into Commodity, Beauty, Language and Discipline. Within each category there are subcategories which show the complex multitude of purposes that Nature serves while also reflecting the intertwined quality of each category. Much of this particular essay demonstrates that Emerson's conception of Nature is abstract; his writing and thought dwells in the realm of ideas rather than physical circumstance. On the other hand, Thoreau's Walden demonstrates a shift from Emerson because Thoreau's experiment is framed in relation to civilization. Whereas Emerson's question of Nature is not grounded tangible but in abstract thought, Thoreau's Nature, while containing esoteric elements similar to Emerson, is focused more on observing the reflection of the oversoul in each aspect of itself. Furthermore, Thoreau diverges from Emerson as Thoreau embraces a wilder view of Nature that acknowledges a darker aspect of man himself