The Philosophy of Henry Thoreau

£28.79

The Philosophy of Henry Thoreau

Ethics, Politics, and Nature

Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 Philosophy: aesthetics Social and political philosophy

Author: Lester H. Hunt

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Language: English

Published by: Bloomsbury Academic

Published on: 17 October 2019

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 184 pages

ISBN: 9781350079045


Henry Thoreau and His Works

Henry Thoreau is widely considered to be one of the greatest nature writers, among whose best-known works are Walden and Walking. In this book, Lester Hunt shows that his writings have a compelling philosophical dimension as well.

Thoreau's Approach to Ideas

Thoreau seldom argues for his ideas the way other philosophers do. Rather than setting up proofs designed to trap the reader into agreeing with him, he challenges the reader – by means of narratives, jokes, questions, and paradoxes – to recognize possibilities previously unknown and unexplored.

Philosophical Theories of Thoreau

Thoreau's own explorations led him to several distinctively philosophical theories: an intuitionist metaethics, an ethics based on virtue and self-realization, a politics that is fundamentally individualist and anarchist, and a secular religion in which nature is pre-eminent.

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