Year of Award
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
Philosophy
Other Degree Name/Area of Focus
Environmental Philosophy
Department or School/College
Philosophy
Committee Chair
Dr. Christopher Preston
Commitee Members
Dr. David Sherman, Dr. Andrew Larson
Keywords
Nature, dialectic, dualism, monism, environment, ethics
Publisher
University of Montana
Subject Categories
Ethics and Political Philosophy | Metaphysics | Other Philosophy | Philosophy
Abstract
The protection of nature has been a central aim of environmentalism for well over a century. However, the concept of nature has been subjected to abundant critiques in recent literature, threatening the conceptual tenability of this goal. In this paper, I discuss why I find the concept of nature too valuable to dismiss and offer an account of nature that I believe remedies existent critiques. In Chapter 1, I recount arguments for the protection of nature and illustrate their dualistic underpinnings. In Chapter 2, I discuss issues with dualistic accounts of nature and demonstrate why Steven Vogel’s monistic alternative is unsatisfactory. In Chapter 3, I propose a dialectical account of nature and explore what an environmental ethic might look like within this framework.
Recommended Citation
Grimm, Georgia Rae, "Toward a Dialectical Account of Nature" (2022). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12029.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12029
© Copyright 2022 Georgia Rae Grimm