Book encourages new thinking on environment

ELON COLLEGE – In his new book, Anthony Weston, a professor of philosophy at Elon College, is sending readers an invitation to think more philosophically about the environmental crisis.

That’s theme behind “An Invitational to Environmental Philosophy” a collection of essays that Weston edited. The book recently was published by the Oxford University Press.

The book’s five chapters are written by well-known environmental philosophers. Weston, a Raleigh resident, wrote the introduction as well as a chapter. He also painted the watercolor of Long Island’s north shore that graces the cover.

In his essay, Weston talks about the staggering losses the biosphere is suffering and the possibilities that remain, sometimes in the most hidden and unexpected places.

Weston says the essays’ aim is not to arrive at any kind of final answer. “Instead, the book is an invitation to the questions. It is meant to open up possibilities. It uncovers the depth of the environmental crisis – understanding that crisis as a cultural and philosophical condition as well as a biological and social one – and in a way that both suggests directions for further thinking and also for practical action,” he says.

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