{"product_id":"a-kind-of-pantheism-escape-from-cosmic-pessimism-and-the-quest-for-a-biocentric-ethic-9781680535594","title":"A Kind of Pantheism: Escape from Cosmic Pessimism and the Quest for a Biocentric Ethic","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Kind of Pantheism: Escape from Cosmic Pessimism and the Quest for a Biocentric Ethic\u003c\/em\u003e explores how such nineteenth-century transcendentalists as Henry David Thoreau and John Muir advanced a biocentric ethic that recognized the intrinsic worth of both plants and animals. This ethic required a pantheistic cosmology to be coherent, however. As science progressed, with developments in evolutionary biology and ecology, the paths of environmental ethics and animal rights diverged. But at the turn of the twentieth century, the nature writer Joseph Wood Krutch, inspired by quantum theory, provided a crucial link that reconnected these fields-a contribution often overlooked even by his own biographers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book traces the historical development of humanity's attitudes toward the non-human world, highlighting the influence of philosophical, religious, and scientific ideas. In addition to Krutch, it brings attention to such lesser-known figures as Henry Stephens Salt and John Howard Moore, emphasizing their roles in shaping biocentric thought. Ultimately, the book argues that animal rights and environmental ethics are two expressions of the same biocentric outlook. By focusing on Krutch's unique contribution, the book offers a way for secular thinkers to reclaim a pantheistic ethic. In the process, \u003cem\u003eA Kind of Pantheism\u003c\/em\u003e solves the problem of \"cosmic pessimism\"-which postulates the cold and meaningless universe implied by modern science, a concept that often undercuts the very ethic it suggests. Through the process of free inqiury, new answers emerge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gregory Novak\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Academica Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/06\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 342\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781680535594","brand":"Academica Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43256070307977,"sku":"9781680535594","price":99.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_06afd6a9-6bf6-4206-871e-f62c79be374b.jpg?v=1736236848","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/a-kind-of-pantheism-escape-from-cosmic-pessimism-and-the-quest-for-a-biocentric-ethic-9781680535594","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}