Lifeworld: A Fresh Approach to Environmental Philosophy

Philosophy has overwhelmingly considered our environmental responsibility as a moral issue. But it is something much deeper and more important than that.

The ethical template fails because obligations to the future or to nature which can only be arbitrated by present humans can only be pseudo-obligations. This accounts for much of the procrastination and bad faith that has dogged the sustainability agenda. But our real responsibility is to understand the natural world as reflecting humanity’s species life-form just as the lifeworlds of other creatures reflect theirs. This we can only do out of the creativity of life working through us. And that ‘deep naturalist’ understanding demands a revolution in how we think about the politics of climate and ecological crisis.

This is a book both for those new to environmental philosophy and for those dissatisfied with it. Parts I and II provide a concise critical introduction to the subject as hitherto practised, while Part III offers an original and far-reaching alternative, of which Part IV explores the political implications. The whole approach thus speaks to a wide range of interests in how philosophy bears on the crucial challenge of our time.