| The Natural and the Artefactual: The Implications of Deep Science and Deep Technology for Environmental Philosophy Contributor(s): Lee, Keekok (Author) |
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ISBN: 0739100610 ISBN-13: 9780739100615 Publisher: Lexington Books OUR PRICE: $128.70 Product Type: Hardcover Published: June 1999 Annotation: In this book, the Singapore-born philosopher Keekok Lee challenges one of the central assumptions of contemporary environmentalism: that if we could reduce or eliminate pollution we could "save" the planet without unduly disrupting our modern, industrialized societies. Lee argues instead that the process of modernization, with its attendant emphasis on technological innovation, has fundamentally transformed "nature" into just another man-made "artefact.'' Ultimately, what needs to be determined is if nature has value above and beyond human considerations, whether aesthetic, spiritual, or biological. This provocative book represents a revolutionary attempt to reconfigure environmental ethics, positing the existence of two separate ontological categories -- the "natural" and the "artefactual" -- one of which accepts that non-human organisms are "morally considerable", while the other places human needs and desires at the center of the environmental movement. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Ethics & Moral Philosophy - Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental) - Science | History |
| Dewey: 304.28 |
| LCCN: 99-20325 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 6.1" W x 8.98" (1.26 lbs) 300 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In this book, philosopher Keekok Lee challenges one of the central assumptions of contemporary environmentalism: that if we could reduce or eliminate pollution we could 'save' the planet without unduly disrupting our modern, industrialized societies. Lee argues instead that the process of modernization, with its attendant emphasis on technological innovation, has fundamentally transformed 'nature' into just another manmade 'artefact.' Ultimately, what needs to be determined is if nature has value above and beyond human considerations, whether aesthetic, spiritual, or biological. This provocative book attempts to reconfigure environmental ethics, positing the existence of two separate ontological categories-the 'natural' and the 'artefactual.' Natural entities, be they organisms or inert matter, are 'morally considerable' because they possess the ontological value of independence, whereas artefacts are created by humans expressly to serve their own interests and ends. |