Introductory description

The climate emergency invites us to rethink our understanding of nature. To what extent can we understand and control our environment? What does beauty (and ugliness) tell us about nature's value? Are there natural laws? Does it make sense to hope when our world is warming? This module introduces the concept of nature as a fundamental and ongoing matter of philosophical reflection. From the Presocratic poets to ecofeminism, it provides a critical reconstruction of key attempts in philosophy's history to interrogate and alter our understanding of nature. Along the way we will examine the political and normative implications of how we think about nature, and critically reflect on our own presuppositions about the natural world.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1. We begin with an overview of the various meanings of 'nature' in the philosophical tradition. Our first port of call is the shifting meaning of the Greek word 'phusis' in the Presocratic poets, which raises a basic question for the module: is natural science a vain attempt to control the chaotic powers of nature?

2. Next we undertake a comparative study Zhuangzi's Daoist writings on 'tian', which is often translated as 'nature'. We explore the ways in which Zhuangzi discredits the view that nature is delimitable by humans alone, opens a non-anthropocentric account of nature that maintains its mysteriousness.

3. We then turn to Aristotle's formalisation of the concept of phusis (with some reference to Plato), which denotes a stable ontological ground for scientific investigation. We examine the extent to which Aristotle's doctrine of powers and potentialities is opposed to our mechanistic conception of science, and whether it has explanatory advantages.

4. Next we explore Aristotle's immense influence on scholastic philosophy in the work of Aquinas. We contextualise Aquinas' work in the context of the Islamic tradition of Aristotelianism, and consider whether the Christian doctrine of creation is compatible with Aristotle's theory of generation. Finally, we examine how this fusion established the basis of modern science.

5. The so-called 'scientific revolution' turns on the rejection of Aristotelian physics. We examine the work of Descartes and Newton, which aims to replace the Aristotelian doctrine of causal powers with a mechanical conception of natural events. We consider what is gained in the revolution, and what is lost.

6. This week we examine Kant's ambitious legacy for natural science. Kant combines the Aristotelian tradition with modern physics, imbuing the physical investigation of nature with a dynamic foundation. While this could be viewed as a last-ditched attempt to domesticate nature to the constraints of rationality, Schelling held that Kant opened a Romantic vision of nature in which the human mind, despite nature's antagonism, is very much at home.

7. This Romantic vision of nature is shattered by Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Or is it? This week we consider the other tradition that follows Kant's work: naturalism, which takes hold in the century following Darwin. We explore the challenges it poses to basic philosophical ideas, including mind, consciousness and value.

8. We then examine responses to naturalism in the twentieth century, focusing on Sellars' distinction between the 'manifest' and 'scientific' images we hold of ourselves. We consider the extent to which the questions of mind, consciousness and value should be subservient to natural science.

9. We conclude with the question of power: has the mechanistic conception of nature at the heart of the scientific revolution been used to control human bodies? We consider how the concept of nature might be reimagined to deflate fantasies of control and guide a new mode of being in our environment.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Students will develop a critical understanding of key phases in the philosophy of nature.
• Students will acquire the capacity to contextualise and analyse historical texts.
• Students will be able to evaluate the political and normative implications of our thinking about nature.
• Students will acquire the ability to reflect on their own conception of the natural world.

Indicative reading list

Readings by week:

1. N/A
2. Zhuangzi - The Inner and Outer Chapters
3. Aristotle - Physics I-III
4. Aquinas - The Principles of Nature I-II, De Potentia Dei 4.2, Summa Theologica I.118.1-2
5. Descartes and Newton - Descartes, Discourse on Method IV-V; Newton, 'Preface' to Principia + General Scholium
6. Kant and Schelling - Kant, Prolegomena §§36-38; Schelling, Introduction to the Outline §§I-VI.
7. Darwin and naturalism - Darwin, The Origins of the Species ch. 4.
8. Responses to naturalism - Sellars, ‘Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man’.
9. Nature and normativity - Spencer, 'Are Biological Races Real?'; Daston, Against Nature.

Interdisciplinary

This module examines the philosophical foundations of natural science. It will be of interest to students working in STEM subjects, who would like to reflect on the assumptions of their discipline, and to students in the GSD program seeking to gain a philosophical understanding of the issues underpinning the climate emergency.

International

This module challenges geographical distinctions in philosophy, such as east and west, continental and analytic, by examining literature from a variety of traditions, including the ancient Near East, China, Greek antiquity, medieval Islam and Christianity, modern Europe and contemporary Anglo-American philosophy.

Subject specific skills

Students will develop their understanding of the central questions, concepts and debates in the philosophy of nature. They will be able to situate various conceptions of nature within the philosophical tradition, and have a greater appreciation of the diversity of positions regarding the metaphysics of the natural world. Students will refine their ability to discuss in speech and writing the philosophy of nature based on close reading and critical analysis of the set texts and relevant secondary literature. Finally, they will develop the capacity to critically reflect on their own assumptions about nature.

Transferable skills

Students will develop the capacity to analyse explicit and implicit conceptions of nature that underpin natural science, philosophy of mind, environmental philosophy and ethics. They will be able to contextualise contemporary debates surrounding the climate emergency within an ongoing conversation about the place of human beings in the natural order.