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Oriented by the seemingly simple example of a woodland pond, Ally draws together insights from existential philosophy, scientific ecology to articulate a strong sense of human belonging in the living Earth community, and a binding imperative of participation in the struggle to preserve a habitable planet.
List of contents
Prelude - Many Ways to Wonder
confessions of a lifelong pond watcher
PART I - ENVIRONMENTALISM AND HUMANISM
SHIPS PASSING IN THE LIGHT
Chapter 1 - Toward an Existential Ecology
water, water, everywhere
Chapter 2 - Bringing Sartre to the Biosphere
the truth of a pond
PART II - NATURE AND CULTURE
WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT A POND?
1st Interval - On Method and Substance
phenomenology
Chapter 3 - A Phenomenological Exploration
to the pond itself
2nd Interval - On Method and Substance
dialectics
Chapter 4 - A Dialectical Investigation
everything is in this pond
PART III - FACT AND VALUE
ONE POND, RIGHT OR WRONG
Chapter 5 - Order and Autonomy in Nature and History
what ponds do
3rd Interval - On Method and Substance
praxis
Chapter 6 - From Integral Humanity to Participatory Belonging
wet feet and a helping hand
PART IV - REALITY AND IMAGINATION
PONDS ON EARTH AND OTHER WORLDS
Chapter 7 - A Global Crisis in Planetary Perspective
stirring up a sea of troubles
4th Interval - On Method and Substance
imagination
Chapter 8 - Intimations of a New Socioecological Imaginary
eddies, bubbles, and ripples
PART V - EARTH AND WORLD
FROM HABITABILITY TO LIVEABILITY
Chapter 9 - To the Far Side of Anthropocentrism
safely through the straits
5th Interval - On Method and Substance
ecology
Chapter 10 - On the Near Side of Ecocentrism
running waters, deeper still
Coda - Bringing Earth and world together again
sketch of an existential ecology
About the author
Matthew C. Ally was supposed to be an ecologist. During the same semester in which he took a required course in "Temperate Forest Ecosystems," he took an elective philosophy course called "Tyranny and Freedom." The rest is history. He is professor of philosophy at the Borough of Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York and coordinator of the BMCC Sustainability Studies Project. He has published articles on Sartre's philosophy, progressive and radical pedagogy, philosophical ecology, environmentalism, and sustainability.
Summary
Oriented by the seemingly simple example of a woodland pond, Ally draws together insights from existential philosophy, scientific ecology to articulate a strong sense of human belonging in the living Earth community, and a binding imperative of participation in the struggle to preserve a habitable planet.
