Against Nature: The Concept of Nature in Critical Theory

by Steven Vogel

Overview

Against Nature examines the history of the concept of nature in the tradition of Critical Theory, with chapters on Lukacs, Horkheimer and Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. It argues that the tradition has been marked by significant difficulties with respect to that concept; that these problems are relevant to contemporary environmental philosophy as well; and that a solution to them requires taking seriously—and literally—the idea of nature as socially constructed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791430460
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	07/03/1996
Series:	SUNY series in Social and Political Thought
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	225
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Steven Vogel is Professor of Philosophy at Denison University.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1  The Problem of Nature in Lukács

1. The Problem

2. Marxism and the Dialectics of Nature

3. Reification and Self-Recognition

4. The Problem Restated

Chapter 2  Nature and Reification

1. The Critique of Nature

2. Ambiguities

3. Science and Reification

Chapter 3  Horkheimer, Adorno, and the Dialectics of Enlightenment

1. Enlightenment and the Domination of Nature

2. Three Dialectics of Enlightenment

3. Nature's Return

Chapter 4  Adorno and Nature as the Nonidentical

1. Nonidentity and the Primacy of the Object

2. Reification and the Nonidentical

3. Nature and Nonidentity

4. The Paradoxes of Art

5. The Road Not Taken

Chapter 5  Marcuse, Habermas, and the Retreat to Nature

1. Marcuse and the New Science

2. Habermas on Knowledge and Interest

3. Two Problems

4. Interests and "Interests"

5. Science, Discourse, and Dualism

6. Science and Self-Reflection

Chapter 6  Towards a Communicative Theory of Nature

1. Ethics and Communication

2. The Problem of Nature in a Discourse Ethics

3. "Can They Talk?": Language and Anthropocentrism

4. An Ethics of the Built World

5. Concluding Remarks

Notes

Works Cited

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Vogel's book lies at the intersection of three important fields: Marxist Critical Theory, postempiricist philosophy and sociology of science, and environmental ethics. It is truly excellent. The argument is original and convincing. The project of relating the Western Marxist tradition to contemporary trends in philosophy of science and environmental ethics enriches all three fields."—Andrew Feenberg, San Diego State University

"This is a stunningly good piece of work on a crucial problem within an influential tradition in twentieth-century philosophy. Vogel's book promises to be the definitive scholarly assessment of the problems and opportunities facing a Critical Theory of nature and science. Vogel sorts out the issues clearly and persuasively, showing how a fundamental, debilitating dilemma recurs throughout the tradition, yet also sympathetically displaying the strengths and accomplishments of each of the major figures, and suggesting a persuasive approach to avoiding the dilemma without abandoning the tradition's most basic commitments. All of the Critical Theorists are notoriously difficult writers, yet Vogel's own prose is a model of how to write philosophy accessibly."—Joseph Rouse, Wesleyan University

"Vogel's book will immediately become the center of productive debate, since he uses such forceful arguments to slay a number of sacred cows. It will make him a major figure in his field."—Michael Zimmerman, Tulane University

"In this reader's opinion, this book meets the highest standards of scholarly excellence, argumentative rigor, interpretive originality, and literary accomplishment."—David Ingram, Loyola University of Chicago

From the Publisher

Critically examines the concept of nature in the tradition of German Western Marxism often known as Critical Theory. Focuses on the work of Lukacs, Horkheimer and Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. Argues that the concept has been problematic from the beginning, and that resolving it can bring insight into contemporary thought on environmental issues and the social role of science and technology. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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