How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers
The ancient Roman orator Cicero famously believed, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Contemporary philosopher Scott H. Moore agrees and puts this celebrated aphorism to the test.

In  How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers, Moore speculates on the practice of farming through the lens of philosophy and literature. He weaves together a tapestry of philosophical reflections on work and leisure, the nature of the virtues, and the role and limitations of technology and higher education with personal reflections on the joys and trials of farm life on his Crawford, Texas, farm.

Full of self-deprecating humor, Moore relates his own experience of a philosopher turned farmer. His efforts at scholar-farmer are haunted by questions from the world's great minds—"Does Plato's 'city of sows' ring true?," "Can Ockham help break a recalcitrant heifer?," "How can Heidegger help with raising swine?," "What insights does Iris Murdoch offer for pest control?" Combining insight with down-to-earth vignettes, Moore joins Wendell Berry, E. B. White, George Orwell, and many more in recognizing the truths deeply rooted in the management of the practical affairs of a farm.

Moore argues that a return to agrarian roots is needed to restore Aristotelian wonder and wisdom in a world increasingly defined by technology. Rejecting the idea that humans are simply cogs in a wheel, he shows how greater human happiness can be found in the meaningful labor of tending to nature, rather than the ever-expanding march of automation.

1131337165
How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers
The ancient Roman orator Cicero famously believed, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Contemporary philosopher Scott H. Moore agrees and puts this celebrated aphorism to the test.

In  How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers, Moore speculates on the practice of farming through the lens of philosophy and literature. He weaves together a tapestry of philosophical reflections on work and leisure, the nature of the virtues, and the role and limitations of technology and higher education with personal reflections on the joys and trials of farm life on his Crawford, Texas, farm.

Full of self-deprecating humor, Moore relates his own experience of a philosopher turned farmer. His efforts at scholar-farmer are haunted by questions from the world's great minds—"Does Plato's 'city of sows' ring true?," "Can Ockham help break a recalcitrant heifer?," "How can Heidegger help with raising swine?," "What insights does Iris Murdoch offer for pest control?" Combining insight with down-to-earth vignettes, Moore joins Wendell Berry, E. B. White, George Orwell, and many more in recognizing the truths deeply rooted in the management of the practical affairs of a farm.

Moore argues that a return to agrarian roots is needed to restore Aristotelian wonder and wisdom in a world increasingly defined by technology. Rejecting the idea that humans are simply cogs in a wheel, he shows how greater human happiness can be found in the meaningful labor of tending to nature, rather than the ever-expanding march of automation.

29.99 Out Of Stock
How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers

How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers

by Scott H. Moore
How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers

How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers

by Scott H. Moore

Paperback

$29.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Temporarily Out of Stock Online
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

The ancient Roman orator Cicero famously believed, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Contemporary philosopher Scott H. Moore agrees and puts this celebrated aphorism to the test.

In  How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers, Moore speculates on the practice of farming through the lens of philosophy and literature. He weaves together a tapestry of philosophical reflections on work and leisure, the nature of the virtues, and the role and limitations of technology and higher education with personal reflections on the joys and trials of farm life on his Crawford, Texas, farm.

Full of self-deprecating humor, Moore relates his own experience of a philosopher turned farmer. His efforts at scholar-farmer are haunted by questions from the world's great minds—"Does Plato's 'city of sows' ring true?," "Can Ockham help break a recalcitrant heifer?," "How can Heidegger help with raising swine?," "What insights does Iris Murdoch offer for pest control?" Combining insight with down-to-earth vignettes, Moore joins Wendell Berry, E. B. White, George Orwell, and many more in recognizing the truths deeply rooted in the management of the practical affairs of a farm.

Moore argues that a return to agrarian roots is needed to restore Aristotelian wonder and wisdom in a world increasingly defined by technology. Rejecting the idea that humans are simply cogs in a wheel, he shows how greater human happiness can be found in the meaningful labor of tending to nature, rather than the ever-expanding march of automation.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781481311533
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Publication date: 03/01/2023
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Scott H. Moore is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Great Texts at Baylor University.

Table of Contents

A Burnt Offering
Buying Geese
Coming to Terms with Shit
Lambing
Guinea Fowl
Red in Tooth and Claw
Playing by Ear
Homecoming and the Future of Higher Education
Doing It and Getting It Done
Fallacy of Acquisition
Mules
Septic Matters
Orphan Chicks
Silky Smooth’s Big Adventure
To a Hare, From a Louse
Farmers, Christians, and Intellectuals: Cultivating Humility and Hope
New Guineas
Skunks
Rattlesnakes
Dead Lambs
Alexander McCall Smith
Too Many Eggs
Ockham, Iris, and the Show Cattle
Wendell, Gene, and Joel: On the Difficulties of Theology and Agriculture
Do Sweat the Small Stuff
Not So Humble, but Near to the Ground
Saving Spiders
Snakes and Chicks
Tolstoy and Pahom
The Cow in the Parking Lot
Back to the Rough Ground: The Consolations of Techne
Calves
E. B. White’s Adventures in Contentment
Gussie, Lloyd, and Mocha
In Defense of Watching Grass Grow
Orchards
City of Sows
Farming with the Philosophers: Work, Leisure, Wonder, and Gratitude
Appendix
Iris Murdoch’s Vexed Relationship with Christian Faith

What People are Saying About This

David Solomon

Moore is on to important issues and is making a significant advance on questions about ethics, the environment, agriculture, and Christianity. How to Burn a Goat takes the reader on an intellectual adventure that opens with a family’s exploration of agrarian life and concludes with an encounter with some of the most profound philosophical insights of classical and modern philosophy.

Stanley Hauerwas

Scott Moore has given us a wonderful gift with this book—a book of comedic determined wisdom that only a philosopher trying to be a farmer could describe. On reaching the end of the book my only thought was to read it again not only because Moore writes so well, but because I want to remember how (not) to burn a goat or to understand better the relationship between Plato and pigs.

Rev. Kyle Childress

What a fun book! A self-described 'inexperienced philosopher hobby farmer,' Moore writes about chasing guinea fowl, the virtues of mules, the vices of geese, the sounds heard on a farm, or why it is important to watch grass grow, mixed with quotations by everyone from Wendell Berry to Wittgenstein all in a clean prose style reminiscent of E. B. White. Moore had me laughing out loud and then pondering his wisdom the rest of the day.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews