The Human Eros: Eco-ontology and the Aesthetics of Existence (American Philosophy)

Machine generated contents note: pt. I Nature and Experience -- 1. The Aesthetics of Reality: The Development of Dewey's Ecological Theory of Experience -- 2. Dewey's Denotative-Empirical Method: A Thread through the Labyrinth -- 3. Between Being and Emptiness: Toward an Eco-ontology of Inhabitation -- 4. The Being of Nature: Dewey and Buchler and the Prospect for an Eco-ontology -- pt. II Eros and Imagination -- 5. The Human Eros -- 6. Pragmatic Imagination -- 7. John Dewey and the Moral Imagination: Beyond Putnam and Rorty toward an Ethics of Meaning -- 8. Educating the Democratic Heart: Pluralism, Traditions, and the Humanities -- pt. III Aesthetics of Existence -- 9."Love Calls Us to Things of This World": Santayana's Unbearable Lightness of Being -- 10. Mountains and Rivers without End: The Intertwining of Nature and Spirit in Emerson's Aesthetics -- 11. Creating with Coyote: Toward a Native American Aesthetics -- 12. Tricksters and Shamans: Eros, Mythos, and the Eco-ontological Imagination -- pt. IV Spirit and Philosophy -- 13. Santayana's Sage: The Disciplines of Aesthetic Enlightenment -- 14. Beauty and the Labyrinth of Evil: Santayana and the Possibility of Naturalistic Mysticism -- 15. The Spirituality of the Possible in John Dewey's A Common Faith -- 16. Eros and Spirit: Toward a Humanistic Philosophy of Culture.;This book explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. It argues that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a 'Human Eros'. Our various cultures are symbolic environments or 'spiritual ecologies' within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Cover 1 Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 16 PART I: NATURE AND EXPERIENCE 40 1 The Aesthetics of Reality: The Development of Dewey’s Ecological Theory of Experience 42 2 Dewey’s Denotative-Empirical Method: A Thread through the Labyrinth 69 3 Between Being and Emptiness: Toward an Eco-ontology of Inhabitation 87 4 The Being of Nature: Dewey and Buchler and the Prospect for an Eco-ontology 118 PART II: EROS AND IMAGINATION 148 5 The Human Eros 150 6 Pragmatic Imagination 174 7 John Dewey and the Moral Imagination: Beyond Putnam and Rorty toward an Ethics of Meaning 195 8 Educating the Democratic Heart: Pluralism, Traditions, and the Humanities 222 PART III: AESTHETICS OF EXISTENCE 240 9 “Love Calls Us to Things of This World”: Santayana’s Unbearable Lightness of Being 242 10 Mountains and Rivers without End: The Intertwining of Nature and Spirit in Emerson’s Aesthetics 259 11 Creating with Coyote: Toward a Native American Aesthetics 278 12 Tricksters and Shamans: Eros, Mythos, and the Eco-ontological Imagination 299 PART IV: SPIRIT AND PHILOSOPHY 316 13 Santayana’s Sage: The Disciplines of Aesthetic Enlightenment 318 14 Beauty and the Labyrinth of Evil: Santayana and the Possibility of Naturalistic Mysticism 344 15 The Spirituality of the Possible in John Dewey’s A Common Faith 367 16 Eros and Spirit: Toward a Humanistic Philosophy of Culture 407 Bibliographic Essay on Resources for Native American Thought 438 Index 446 A 446 B 446 C 446 D 447 E 447 F 448 G 448 H 448 I 448 J 449 K 449 L 449 M 449 N 449 O 450 P 450 Q 450 R 450 S 450 T 451 U 451 V 451 W 451 In these philosophical essays, a leading John Dewey scholar presents a new conceptual framework for exploring human experience as it relates to nature. The Human Eros explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. Using these works as a critical base, Thomas M. Alexander suggests that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, what he calls a "Human Eros." Our various cultures are symbolic environments or "spiritual ecologies" within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Alexander introduces the idea of "eco-ontology" to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. He argues for the centrality of Dewey's thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both "pragmatism" and "naturalism," he shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence.

The Human Eros explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. Alexander’s primary claim is that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a “Human Eros.” Our
various cultures are symbolic environments or “spiritual ecologies” within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth.

Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Alexander introduces the idea of “eco-ontology” to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. He argues for the centrality of Dewey’s thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both “pragmatism” and “naturalism,” he shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence.

The Human Eros explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. Alexander's primary claim is that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a Human Eros. Our various cultures are symbolic environments or spiritual ecologies within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth.

Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Alexander introduces the idea of eco-ontology to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. He argues for the centrality of Dewey's thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both pragmatism and naturalism, he shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence.

The Human Eros explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. Alexander's primary claim is that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a "Human Eros." Our various cultures are symbolic environments or "spiritual ecologies" within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for flunking ecologically. Alexander introduces the idea of "eco-ontology" to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being and including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. He argues for the centrality of Dewey's thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both "pragmatism" and "naturalism," he shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence. Book jacket The Human Eros explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. Alexander's primary claim is that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a "Human Eros." Our various cultures are symbolic environments or "spiritual ecologies" within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Alexander introduces the idea of "eco-ontology" to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. He argues for the centrality of Dewey's thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both "pragmatism" and "naturalism," he shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence. This book explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. It argues that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a “Human Eros.” Our various cultures are symbolic environments or “spiritual ecologies” within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. The book introduces the idea of “eco-ontology” to explore ways in which this might be done, beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. It argues for the centrality of Dewey’s thought to an effective ecological philosophy. Both “pragmatism” and “naturalism,” it shows, need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, nonreductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, nonreductive view of intelligence This book explores themes in classical American philosophy, primarily the thought of John Dewey, but also that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, and Native American traditions. It argues that human beings have an inherent need to experience meaning and value, a "Human Eros." Our various cultures are symbolic environments or "spiritual ecologies" within which the Human Eros seeks to thrive. This is how we inhabit the earth. Encircling and sustaining our cultural existence is nature, yet Western philosophy has not provided adequate conceptual models for thinking ecologically. Thus the idea of "eco-ontology" undertakes to explore ways in which this might be done beginning with the primacy of Nature over Being, but also including the recognition of possibility and potentiality as inherent aspects of existence. The author argues for the centrality of Dewey for an effective ecological philosophy. Both "pragmatism" and "naturalism" need to be contextualized within an emergentist, relational, non-reductive view of nature and an aesthetic, imaginative, non-reductive view of intelligence Studies in the philosophy of John Dewey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana and Native American philosophy that argue for an ecological, aesthetic form of philosophy.