The philosopher's plant : an intellectual herbarium
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Bibliographic Information
The philosopher's plant : an intellectual herbarium
Columbia University Press, c2014
- : cloth
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-253) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Despite their conceptual allergy to vegetal life, philosophers have used germination, growth, blossoming, fruition, reproduction, and decay as illustrations of abstract concepts; mentioned plants in passing as the natural backdrops for dialogues, letters, and other compositions; spun elaborate allegories out of flowers, trees, and even grass; and recommended appropriate medicinal, dietary, and aesthetic approaches to select species of plants. In this book, Michael Marder illuminates the vegetal centerpieces and hidden kernels that have powered theoretical discourse for centuries. Choosing twelve botanical specimens that correspond to twelve significant philosophers, he recasts the development of philosophy through the evolution of human and plant relations. A philosophical history for the postmetaphysical age, The Philosopher's Plant reclaims the organic heritage of human thought. With the help of vegetal images, examples, and metaphors, the book clears a path through philosophy's tangled roots and dense undergrowth, opening up the discipline to all readers.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Prologue: Herbarium Philosophicum Part I: Ancient Plant-Souls 1. Plato's Plane Tree 2. Aristotle's Wheat 3. Plotinus' Anonymous "Great Plant" Part II. Medieval Plant-Instruments 4. Augustine's Pears 5. Avicenna's Celery 6. Maimonides' Palm Tree Part III. Modern Plant-Images 7. Leibniz's Blades of Grass 8. Kant's Tulip 9. Hegel's Grapes Part IV: Postmodern Plant-Subjects 10. Heidegger's Apple Tree 11. Derrida's Sunflowers 12. Irigaray's Water Lily Notes Bibliography Index
by "Nielsen BookData"