Wild and the Wicked: On Nature and Human Nature

This book is a call to action for all to be environmentalists — but expands the lens and adds a twist to what we might believe about nature preservation. Through philosophical arguments and history, author Benjamin Hale doesn’t disagree that people should be engaged in environmentalism. His claim: we shouldn’t only embrace the parts of nature that are beautiful or splendorous. There are parts of nature that inherently cruel and fundamentally unfair — these aspects are part and parcel of what we must protect. There are natural substances that are poisonous, wolves that threaten livestock, and there is value in protecting what isn’t convenient or easy to candy coat, he argues. Nature is important and nature isn’t a metaphorical mother that cares and provides for all living things — there is an indifference and hostility that can be found in nature, in the essence of living on an organic planet.

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