Life and Wilderness: actuality of thoreauvian environmental ethics

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Published: 27-04-2018

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Diego Clares
Universidad de Murcia
Spain
Biography
Vol 37 No 2 (2018), Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15304/ag.37.2.4343
Submitted: 04-10-2017 Accepted: 12-03-2018 Published: 27-04-2018
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Abstract

This paper’s aim is to defend that the work of North American philosopher Henry Thoreau is nowadays an influence for ethical reflection about environment. He considers frequently in his work problems that affect our natural surroundings, so all life generally. The importance of his thought lies in his biocentrism and in who founds some ethical criteria from it. Far from going deep in the thoreauvian proposal, this article intends to expose his main issues, developing them around concepts of ‘life’ and ‘wilderness’, for explaining its relevance through two contrary understandings, by Philip Cafaro and Daniel Botkin, and a current proposal: deep ecology.

Keywords:

Thoreau, ethics, environment, life, wilderness, nature, wild
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References

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