Inhuman Nature

Sociable Life on a Dynamic Planet
Nigel Clark - The Open University
Inhuman Nature
December 2010 | 272 pages | Sage UK
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ISBN: 9781446243145
Available from January 0001
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780761957249
Available from January 0001

Description

The relationship between social thought and earth processes is in its infancy. It is an oddly neglected part of the social sciences.

This exciting book, Inhuman Nature, offers to make good the defect by exploring how human induced changes impact upon planetary process. The book:

  • Provides a much needed in-depth inquiry into the volatile relationship between human life and the physical earth

  • Considers the social and political implications of consistently thinking of the earth as a dynamic planet

  • Asks what we can learn from natural catastrophes

  • Brings together an inter-disciplinary perspective using data from Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy and Earth / Life Sciences

The result is a landmark work that will be of interest to readers across the Social Sciences and Humanities as well as Geography and Environmental Studies.

Contents

Introduction

Introduction

The Earth in Physical and Social Thought

The Earth in Physical and Social Thought

Ways to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical Asymmetry

Ways to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical Asymmetry

After the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile Planet

After the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile Planet

Quaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern Subject

Quaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern Subject

Justice and Abrupt Climate Change

Justice and Abrupt Climate Change

Hurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community

Hurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community

'Burning for the Other': Colonial Encounters on a Planet of Fire

'Burning for the Other': Colonial Encounters on a Planet of Fire

Extending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time

Extending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time

Description

The relationship between social thought and earth processes is in its infancy. It is an oddly neglected part of the social sciences.

This exciting book, Inhuman Nature, offers to make good the defect by exploring how human induced changes impact upon planetary process. The book:

  • Provides a much needed in-depth inquiry into the volatile relationship between human life and the physical earth

  • Considers the social and political implications of consistently thinking of the earth as a dynamic planet

  • Asks what we can learn from natural catastrophes

  • Brings together an inter-disciplinary perspective using data from Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy and Earth / Life Sciences

The result is a landmark work that will be of interest to readers across the Social Sciences and Humanities as well as Geography and Environmental Studies.

Contents

Introduction

Introduction

The Earth in Physical and Social Thought

The Earth in Physical and Social Thought

Ways to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical Asymmetry

Ways to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical Asymmetry

After the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile Planet

After the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile Planet

Quaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern Subject

Quaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern Subject

Justice and Abrupt Climate Change

Justice and Abrupt Climate Change

Hurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community

Hurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community

'Burning for the Other': Colonial Encounters on a Planet of Fire

'Burning for the Other': Colonial Encounters on a Planet of Fire

Extending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time

Extending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time

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Inhuman Nature

Sociable Life on a Dynamic Planet


December 2010 | 272 pages | Sage UK

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Hardcover 31/03/2026 9780761957249 $187.00
180 Day Ebook 28/03/2023 9781446243145 $116.00
Lifetime 28/03/2023 9781446243145 $168.00

The relationship between social thought and earth processes is in its infancy. It is an oddly neglected part of the social sciences.

This exciting book, Inhuman Nature, offers to make good the defect by exploring how human induced changes impact upon planetary process. The book:

  • Provides a much needed in-depth inquiry into the volatile relationship between human life and the physical earth

  • Considers the social and political implications of consistently thinking of the earth as a dynamic planet

  • Asks what we can learn from natural catastrophes

  • Brings together an inter-disciplinary perspective using data from Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy and Earth / Life Sciences

The result is a landmark work that will be of interest to readers across the Social Sciences and Humanities as well as Geography and Environmental Studies.


Table Of Contents:

  • Introduction
  • The Earth in Physical and Social Thought
  • Ways to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical Asymmetry
  • After the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile Planet
  • Quaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern Subject
  • Justice and Abrupt Climate Change
  • Hurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community
  • 'Burning for the Other': Colonial Encounters on a Planet of Fire
  • Extending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time

Recent Product Reviews:

Drawing on an impressive array of philosophical, social, and natural science sources Nigel Clark's magnificent Inhuman Nature provides a compelling account of the respects in which modern ways of living are perpetually exposed to unpredictable natural processes and transformations and the manner in which communities have responded with care and hospitality to the desperate plight of othersBarry SmartProfessor of Sociology, Portmouth University Inhuman Nature: Sociable Life on a Dynamic Planet is a watershed for social theory. Nigel Clark’s engaging book brings together earth systems science, philosophy, and history to challenge the longstanding impasse created through the philosophical separation of humans from the world. This book does not simply ‘take nature into account’: fires, floods, volcanoes, climate change, and hurricanes take centre-stage in this thorough re-writing of the organic and inorganic. Inhuman Nature asks the most important questions of our time, and is a must-read for anyone who takes nature and our future on this planet seriouslyMyra HirdProfessor of Sociology, Queen’s University Canada This is possibly one of the most important books you are ever likely to read, particularly if you have been duped into thinking ‘nature’ and ‘planet earth’ are merely benevolent forces at the mercy of an insane, disordered humanity. According to Clark this just-so story illustrates our twin bad habits of focussing almost exclusively on human powers (exaggerating them wildly) and developing a blindness to the agency and powers of non-humans. This book reveals what the world is like when we come to our senses, literally. You wont look back (the view is better)Adrian FranklinProfessor of Sociology, University of Tasmania
Nigel Clark offers in this book a unique position, and radical, on the links between human and non-human to question the contemporary "environmental crisis". The ambitious question the author asks is: How to live with others and things in this context of profound insecurity? ...Above all, this book is incredibly stimulating.
Séverine Durand, Université de Grenoble- UMR Pacte, Journal Revue d'Anthropologie des Connaissances

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