Nature and Madness

by Paul Shepard

Overview

Through much of history our relationship with the earth has been plagued by ambivalence—we not only enjoy and appreciate the forces and manifestations of nature, we seek to plunder, alter, and control them. Here Paul Shepard uncovers the cultural roots of our ecological crisis and proposes ways to repair broken bonds with the earth, our past, and nature. Ultimately encouraging, he notes, "There is a secret person undamaged in every individual. We have not lost, and cannot lose, the genuine impulse."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780820342337
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	07/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

PAUL SHEPARD (1925-1996) was Avery Professor of Natural Philosophy and Human Ecology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. He is the author of twelve books, a number of which are available from the University of Georgia Press.

Editorial Reviews

By any measure, Shepard's thesis is novel and compelling. Nature and Madness is the most readable of a trilogy of books on philosophy and the environment that [the author] has produced. -- ForeWord

Keith Schneider

Published in 1982, 1973, and 1978, respectively, Shepard's titles employ animals in order to further the study of humans. His theories incorporate elements from nature as well as from mythology, literature, sociology, and numerous other concentrations.

Library Journal

This is an extraordinary book. Buy it, read it, and begin to remember what it means to be a human animal.

Bloomsbury Review

[Shepard] demands of ecology nothing less than a shift in our whole frame of reference and our attitudes toward life itself.

New York Times Book Review

Much of what we value in contemporary thought about 'nature and culture' grew up in the seedbed of Shepard's thinking. His writing about child development, physical and cultural anthropology, animal behavior, art and mythology, the history of agriculture, and other subjects is endlessly fascinating.

Barry Lopez

[In] Shepard's texts, we can once again take a deep breath and remember that life is holy and a wildness of spirit is not only something to be retrieved and honored but the very essence of our humanity.

Terry Tempest Williams

"[Shepard] demands of ecology nothing less than a shift in our whole frame of reference and our attitudes toward life itself."--New York Times Book Review

"Much of what we value in contemporary thought about 'nature and culture' grew up in the seedbed of Shepard's thinking. His writing about child development, physical and cultural anthropology, animal behavior, art and mythology, the history of agriculture, and other subjects is endlessly fascinating."--Barry Lopez

"[In] Shepard's texts, we can once again take a deep breath and remember that life is holy and a wildness of spirit is not only something to be retrieved and honored but the very essence of our humanity."--Terry Tempest Williams

"This is an extraordinary book. Buy it, read it, and begin to remember what it means to be a human animal."--Bloomsbury Review

From the Publisher