Thinking and Acting with Nature - A Philosophical Inquiry

Qhat does it mean to protect nature? Answering this concrete and urgent question means facing a strictly philosophical question. For the very notion of "nature" is no longer self-evident. By articulating these questions with a real concrete inquiry, which brilliantly manipulates scientific concepts and the reality of public policies, the authors show that it is possible to reconcile concern for nature and the diversity of cultures, the demand for justice and respect for the environment.

We have become accustomed to approaching the environment on the basis of the oppositions between nature and culture, natural and artificial, wild and domestic, which the globalization of the environmental crisis has erased: climate change challenges the traditional distinction between the history of nature and human history.

These clear-cut oppositions no longer exist, but their disappearance does not mean the triumph of artifice. We can continue to speak of "nature" and even speak better of it, because there is no longer a choice between man and nature, but rather a concern for the relations between men, in their diversity, and the diversity of forms of life. Whether one is interested in environmental protection, technology or environmental justice, this book shows that it is possible to reconcile concern for nature, cultural diversity and equity among people; and that there are also ways of acting with nature and not against it.