Thoreau's Living Ethics is the first full, rigorous account  of Henry Thoreau's ethical philosophy. Focused on Walden but  ranging widely across his writings, the study situates Thoreau within a  long tradition of ethical thinking in the West, from the ancients to the  Romantics and on to the present day. Philip Cafaro shows Thoreau  grappling with important ethical questions that agitated his own society  and discusses his value for those seeking to understand contemporary  ethical issues. Cafaro's particular interest is in Thoreau's treatment of virtue  ethics: the branch of ethics centered on personal and social  flourishing. Ranging across the central elements of Thoreau's  philosophy—life, virtue, economy, solitude and society, nature, and  politics—Cafaro shows Thoreau developing a comprehensive virtue ethics,  less based in ancient philosophy than many recent efforts and more  grounded in modern life and experience. He presents Thoreau's  evolutionary, experimental ethics as superior to the more static  foundational efforts of current virtue ethicists. Another main focus is Thoreau's environmental ethics. The book shows  Thoreau not only anticipating recent arguments for wild nature's  intrinsic value, but also demonstrating how a personal connection to  nature furthers self-development, moral character, knowledge, and  creativity. Thoreau's life and writings, argues Cafaro, present a  positive, life-affirming environmental ethics, combining respect and  restraint with an appreciation for human possibilities for flourishing  within nature.

Thoreau's Living Ethics: Walden and the Pursuit of Virtue PDF

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