Adorno on Nature - Hardcover

Cook, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844652556 ISBN 13: 9781844652556

Publisher: Routledge, 2011

Synopsis

Decades before the environmental movement emerged in the 1960s, Adorno condemned our destructive and self-destructive relationship to the natural world, warning of the catastrophe that may result if we continue to treat nature as an object that exists exclusively for our own benefit. 'Adorno on Nature' presents the first detailed examination of the pivotal role of the idea of natural history in Adorno's work. A comparison of Adorno's concerns with those of key ecological theorists - social ecologist Murray Bookchin, ecofeminist Carolyn Merchant, and deep ecologist Arne Naess - reveals how Adorno speaks directly to many of today's most pressing environmental issues. Ending with a discussion of the philosophical conundrum of unity in diversity, "Adorno on Nature" also explores how social solidarity can be promoted as a necessary means of confronting environmental problems.

About this title

Review:

'Deborah Cook clearly and carefully explores how Adorno's concern with nature organises his whole philosophy. She shows the relevance of his work for understanding the environmental crisis.' --Alison Stone, Lancaster University

Deborah Cook provides an illuminating study of the concept of nature in Adorno and how it emerges and remains a central component of his work, undergirding the key themes of his philosophy. Clearly and lucidly presenting Adorno's complex ideas, Cook provides a work that should be of interest to both students and scholars of Adorno's important work. --Douglas Kellner, UCLA

'The reconstruction of Adorno presented here is compelling and will help restore interest in this sophisticated materialist.' --Journal of Critical Realism

About the Author:

Deborah Cook is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Windsor, Ontario. She is also the editor of Theodor Adorno: Key Concepts (Acumen, 2009).

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1844652556
• ISBN 13: 9781844652556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224