Loving nature : towards an ecology of emotion /
Kay Milton.
- x, 182 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 159-172) and index.
Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Science and religion -- Science, religion and nature protection -- Science, religion and magic -- Science, religion and common sense -- The natural and the unnatural -- The personal and the impersonal -- The emotional and the rational -- The way forward -- The naturalness of ideas -- Persons, non-persons and nature protection -- Representations, metaphors and knowledge -- Personhood as a natural idea -- Innate learning mechanisms -- Persons and the theory of mind -- An assessment -- Knowing nature through experience -- Experience and constructionism -- Perception and knowledge -- Perceiving persons -- Getting to know nature -- Enjoying nature -- Conservation and the enjoyment of nature -- The naturalness of emotion -- Biophilia and domain-specific emotions -- Enjoying nature through experience -- Emotion, perception and memory -- Emotion and self-perception -- Emotions in their social setting -- Learning to enjoy nature -- Identifying with nature -- Identification and deep ecology -- Identification and identity: Part 1 -- Other bases of identification -- Emotions, feelings and consciousness -- Emotions, personhood and identification -- Identification and self-realization -- Personhood and the enjoyment of nature -- Identification and identity: Part 2 -- Valuing nature: meaning, emotion and the sacred -- Value in anthropology, psychology and philosophy -- Value and meaning -- Meaning and emotion -- Emotion and the sacred -- Sacredness, identity and self-realization -- Protecting nature: wildness, diversity and personhood -- Protecting nature's independence -- Protecting diversity and personhood in nature -- Diversity and personhood and harmony -- Diversity and personhood in conflict -- Protecting nature: science and the sacred -- Emotion and rationality -- Emotion, rationality and capitalism -- Science and scenery -- A tale of two mountains -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Index. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
"In Loving Nature Kay Milton considers why some people in western societies grow up to be nature lovers, actively concerned about the welfare and future of plants, animals, ecosystems and nature in general, while others seem indifferent or intent on destroying these things. Drawing on findings and ideas from anthropology, psychology, cognitive science and philosophy, the author discusses how we come to understand nature as we do, and above all, how we develop emotional commitments to it. The author argues that the conventional opposition between emotion and rationality in western culture is a myth, the effect of which has been to exclude from public decision making the kind of emotional attachments that support more environmentally sensitive ways of living."--Publisher description.