Worldliness and Respect for Nature: an Ecological Appreciation of Hannah Arendt's Conception of Culture. (1st February 1998)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Whiteside, K.H.
• Is Part Of: Environmental values. Volume 7:Number 1(1998:Spring)
• Page Start: 25
• Page End: 40
• Publication Date: 1998-02-01
• Subjects: Arendt -- ecology -- culture -- politics -- judgement; Environmental ethics -- Periodicals; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; 179.105
• DOI: 10.3197/096327198129341456
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-2719

Abstract

Abstract : Arendt's conception of culture could supersede claims that nature's intrinsic value or human interests best ground environmental ethics. Fusing ancient Greek notions of non-instrumental value and Roman concerns for cultivating and preserving worldly surroundings, culture supplies an ethic for the treatment of nonhuman things. Unlike a system of philosophical propositions, an Arendtian ecology could only arise in public deliberation, since culture's qualitative judgements are intrinsically linked to processes of political persuasion.