The Woods

by Vladimir Bibikhin, Arch Tait (Translator)

Overview

In our modern, urbanized societies, our engagement with the natural world often seems distant and superficial. Human life is now far removed from its prehistoric origins, when humans dwelt deep within the forests and depended on them for their survival.

In this important book, Vladimir Bibikhin, one of Russia’s most influential twentieth-century philosophers, argues that, although most humans now live far from woods and forests, our existence remains profoundly linked to them. It was Aristotle who first appreciated their primal role, even deriving his notion of ‘matter’w from the Greek words for wood and forest. As timber, the woods may be seen as inanimate material, but at the same time they also constitute a living ecosystem and the source of energy and life. By opening up this duality, the woods are transformed from simple matter to a living environment, serving as a reminder that we belong to the world of biological life to a far greater extent than we usually think.

The Woods will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy and the humanities generally and to anyone concerned with the environment and our relationship to the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509525904
Publisher:	Polity Press
Publication date:	02/12/2021
Series:	New Russian Thought
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	872 KB

About the Author

Vladimir Bibikhin (1938-2004) was a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Science and one of the most important Russian philosophers of the twentieth century.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Artemy Magun vii

Introduction 1

Lecture 1, 2 September 1997 6

Lecture 2, 9 September 1997 17

Lecture 3, 23 September 1997 31

Lecture 4, 30 September 1997 44

Lecture 5, 7 October 1997 56

Lecture 6, 14 October 1997 66

Lecture 7, 21 October 1997 77

Lecture 8, 28 October 1997 90

Lecture 9, 4 November 1997 103

Lecture 10, 11 November 1997 116

Lecture 11, 18 November 1997 126

Lecture 12, 25 November 1997 137

Lecture 13, 2 December 1997 147

Lecture 14, 9 December 1997 157

Lecture 15, 16 December 1997 161

Lecture 16, 23 December 1997 172

Lecture 17, 10 February 1998 184

Lecture 18, 17 February 1998 197

Lecture 19, 24 February 1998 207

Lecture 20, 3 March 1998 217

Lecture 21, 10 March 1998 227

Lecture 22, 17 March 1998 239

Lecture 23, 24 March 1998 249

Lecture 25, 7 April 1998 259

Lecture 26, 14 April 1998 271

Lecture 27, 21 April 1998 283

Lecture 28, 28 April 1998 292

Lecture 29, 5 May 1998 303

Lecture 30, 12 May 1998 313

Lecture 31, 19 May 1998 326

Lecture 32, 26 May 1998 340

Glossary 352

Notes 355

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

‘An encounter of English-speaking audiences with Vladimir Bibikhin has been long overdue. I cannot think of a better text for introducing this outstanding philosopher than The Woods. Here, Bibikhin is at his virtuoso best: navigating between ancient thought and contemporary biology, theology and philosophy, East and West. This book is sure to transform your way of thinking.’
Michael Marder, author of Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life

‘At a time when we are urgently in need of a new holistic philosophy of life in order to understand our current situation on this fragile planet, this lecture course by one of Russia’s most eminent philosophers provides us with some profound and valuable ideas.’
Peter Trawny, Martin Heidegger Institute at University of Wuppertal

From the Publisher