Brian G. Henning's Books

The Ethics of Creativity

Beauty, Morality, and Nature in a Processive Cosmos

By: Brian G. Henning

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The Ethics of Creativity

Beauty, Morality, and Nature in a Processive Cosmos

By: Brian G. Henning

Foreword by Daniel A. Dombrowski. A central concern of nearly every environmental ethic is its desire to extend the scope of direct moral concern beyond human beings to plants, nonhuman animals, and the systems of which they are a part. Although nearly all environmental philosophies have long since rejected modernity's conception of individuals as isolated and independent substances, few have replaced this worldview with an alternative that is adequate to the organic, processive world in which we find ourselves. In this context, Brian G. Henning argues that the often overlooked work of Alfred North Whitehead has the potential to make a significant contribution to environmental ethics. Additionally inspired by classical American philosophers such as William James, John Dewey and Charles Sanders Pierce and environmental philosophers such as Aldo Leopold, Peter Singer, Albert Schweitzer, and Arne Naess, Henning develops an ethical theory of which the seminal insight is called "The Ethics of Creativity."By systematically examining and developing a conception of individuality that is equally at home with the microscopic world of subatomic events and the macroscopic world of ecosystems, The Ethics of Creativity correctly emphasizes the well-being of wholes, while not losing sight of the importance of the unique centers of value that constitute these wholes. In this way, The Ethics of Creativity has the potential to be a unique voice in contemporary moral philosophy.

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Page Count

276

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822970996

ISBN 13

9780822970996

Beyond Mechanism

Putting Life Back Into Biology

By: Brian G. Henning,Adam Scarfe

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Beyond Mechanism

Putting Life Back Into Biology

By: Brian G. Henning,Adam Scarfe

It has been said that new discoveries and developments in the human, social, and natural sciences hang “in the air” (Bowler, 1983; 2008) prior to their consummation. While neo-Darwinist biology has been powerfully served by its mechanistic metaphysic and a reductionist methodology in which living organisms are considered machines, many of the chapters in this volume place this paradigm into question. Pairing scientists and philosophers together, this volume explores what might be termed “the New Frontiers” of biology, namely contemporary areas of research that appear to call an updating, a supplementation, or a relaxation of some of the main tenets of the Modern Synthesis. Such areas of investigation include: Emergence Theory, Systems Biology, Biosemiotics, Homeostasis, Symbiogenesis, Niche Construction, the Theory of Organic Selection (also known as “the Baldwin Effect”), Self-Organization and Teleodynamics, as well as Epigenetics. Most of the chapters in this book offer critical reflections on the neo-Darwinist outlook and work to promote a novel synthesis that is open to a greater degree of inclusivity as well as to a more holistic orientation in the biological sciences.

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488

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Lexington Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0739174371

ISBN 13

9780739174371

Value, Beauty, and Nature

The Philosophy of Organism and the Metaphysical Foundations of Environmental Ethics

By: Brian G. Henning

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Value, Beauty, and Nature

The Philosophy of Organism and the Metaphysical Foundations of Environmental Ethics

By: Brian G. Henning

Much of early environmental ethics was born out of the belief that the ecological crisis can only truly be solved by overcoming a pernicious worldview that limits all intrinsic value to human beings. Returning to this originating impulse, Value, Beauty, and Nature contends that, to make progress within environmental ethics, philosophers must explicitly engage in environmental metaphysics. Grounded in an organicist process worldview, Brian G. Henning shows that it is possible to make progress in key debates within environmental philosophy, including those concerning the nature of intrinsic value; anthropocentrism; hierarchy; the moral significance of beauty; the nature of individuality; teleology and the naturalistic fallacy; and worldview reconstruction. A Whiteheadian fallibilistic, naturalistic, event ontology allows for the recovery of systematic, speculative metaphysical thought without a revanchist movement toward a necessitarian philosophia perennis. Thus, in contrast to the claims of environmental pragmatists, Value, Beauty, and Nature demonstrates that environmental ethics would greatly benefit from an adequate metaphysical foundation and, of the candidate metaphysical systems, Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy of organism is the most adequate.

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418

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State University of New York Press

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ISBN 10

1438495587

ISBN 13

9781438495583

The Ethics of Creativity

Beauty, Morality, and Nature in a Processive Cosmos

By: Brian G. Henning

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The Ethics of Creativity

Beauty, Morality, and Nature in a Processive Cosmos

By: Brian G. Henning

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

276

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822970996

ISBN 13

9780822970996

Book's by Brian G. Henning

The Ethics of Creativity

The Ethics of Creativity

Beyond Mechanism

Beyond Mechanism

Value, Beauty, and Nature

Value, Beauty, and Nature

The Ethics of Creativity

The Ethics of Creativity

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