Course Description:
This course explores the wide range of ideas about nature that philosophers and other thinkers have developed from ancient times to the present, and examines how such ideas inform (though often invisibly) contemporary debates concerning our relationship to the land, resource use, and other issues. General topic areas include Nature as Empirical Reality, Nature as Synonymous with Reason, Nature as Antithetical to Man, Nature as Moral Lawgiver, Nature as Aesthetic Norm, and Ecological Ideas. Discussion will draw on thinkers ranging from Aristotle, Tertullian, and Descartes to Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and Frederick Turner. This philosophical component is complemented by readings and discussions of materials from the current press and recent publications. (3 hours lecture).
Completes General Education Requirements:RE-I, LAS