Science and Nature: Past, Present, and Future

Science and Nature brings together the work and insights of historian Carolyn Merchant on the history of science, environmental history, and ethics. The book explores her ideas about the interconnections among science, women, nature, and history as they have emerged over her academic lifetime. Focusing on topics such as "The Death of Nature," the Scientific Revolution, women in the history of science and environment, and partnership ethics, it synthesizes her writings and sets out a vision for the twenty-first century. Anyone interested in the interactions between science and nature in the past, present, and future will want to read this book. It is an ideal text for courses on the environment, environmental history, history of science, and the philosophy of science.

Carolyn Merchant is Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of The Death of Nature, Ecological Revolutions, Reinventing Eden, and Autonomous Nature, among other books. She is a past president of the American Society for Environmental History; a recipient of the Society’s Distinguished Scholar Award and its Distinguished Service Award; a former Guggenheim fellow; and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.