Against Nature

Steven Vogel is Professor of Philosophy at Denison University.

• IntroductionChapter 1  The Problem of Nature in Lukács1. The Problem2. Marxism and the Dialectics of Nature3. Reification and Self-Recognition4. The Problem RestatedChapter 2  Nature and Reification1. The Critique of Nature2. Ambiguities3. Science and ReificationChapter 3  Horkheimer, Adorno, and the Dialectics of Enlightenment1. Enlightenment and the Domination of Nature2. Three Dialectics of Enlightenment3. Nature's ReturnChapter 4  Adorno and Nature as the Nonidentical1. Nonidentity and the Primacy of the Object2. Reification and the Nonidentical3. Nature and Nonidentity4. The Paradoxes of Art5. The Road Not TakenChapter 5  Marcuse, Habermas, and the Retreat to Nature1. Marcuse and the New Science2. Habermas on Knowledge and Interest3. Two Problems4. Interests and "Interests"5. Science, Discourse, and Dualism6. Science and Self-ReflectionChapter 6  Towards a Communicative Theory of Nature1. Ethics and Communication2. The Problem of Nature in a Discourse Ethics3. "Can They Talk?": Language and Anthropocentrism4. An Ethics of the Built World5. Concluding RemarksNotesWorks CitedIndex

"Vogel's book lies at the intersection of three important fields: Marxist Critical Theory, postempiricist philosophy and sociology of science, and environmental ethics. It is truly excellent. The argument is original and convincing. The project of relating the Western Marxist tradition to contemporary trends in philosophy of science and environmental ethics enriches all three fields."—Andrew Feenberg, San Diego State University"This is a stunningly good piece of work on a crucial problem within an influential tradition in twentieth-century philosophy. Vogel's book promises to be the definitive scholarly assessment of the problems and opportunities facing a Critical Theory of nature and science. Vogel sorts out the issues clearly and persuasively, showing how a fundamental, debilitating dilemma recurs throughout the tradition, yet also sympathetically displaying the strengths and accomplishments of each of the major figures, and suggesting a persuasive approach to avoiding the dilemma without abandoning the tradition's most basic commitments. All of the Critical Theorists are notoriously difficult writers, yet Vogel's own prose is a model of how to write philosophy accessibly."—Joseph Rouse, Wesleyan University"Vogel's book will immediately become the center of productive debate, since he uses such forceful arguments to slay a number of sacred cows. It will make him a major figure in his field."—Michael Zimmerman, Tulane University"In this reader's opinion, this book meets the highest standards of scholarly excellence, argumentative rigor, interpretive originality, and literary accomplishment."—David Ingram, Loyola University of Chicago