Critical Reflections on Ownership (Critical Reflections on Human Rights and the Environment series) - Softcover

Warnock, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1781955476 ISBN 13: 9781781955475

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

In this thought-provoking work, Mary Warnock explores what it is to own things, and the differences in our attitude to what we own and what we do not.

Starting from the philosophical standpoints of Locke and Hume, the ownership of gardens is presented as a prime example, exploring both private and common ownership, historically and autobiographically. The author concludes that, besides pleasure and pride, ownership brings a sense of responsibility for what is owned and a fundamental question is brought to light: can we feel the same responsibility for what we do not, and never can, own? Applying this question to the natural world and the planet as a whole, a realistic and gradualist perspective is offered on confronting global environmental degradation. Critical Reflections on Ownership examines the effect of the Romantic Movement on our attitudes to nature and is a salient commentary on the history of ideas.

Providing an accessible entrance into moral philosophy and its practical applications, this book is an invaluable source for students in the fields of politics and philosophy. Academics interested in conceptions of ownership, and in the interface between philosophy, morality and politics, will find this deeply considered insight to be a stimulating read.

About this title

About the Author

The late Mary Warnock, formerly Oxford University, UK

Edition details

• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781955476
• ISBN 13: 9781781955475
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168