Description
Book SynopsisIn Ecological Ethics and the Human Soul: Aquinas, Whitehead, and the Metaphysics of Value, Francisco J. Benzoni addresses the pervasive and destructive view that there is a moral gulf between human beings and other creatures. Thomas Aquinas, whose metaphysics entails such a moral gulf, holds that human beings are ultimately separate from nature. Alfred North Whitehead, in contrast, maintains that human beings are continuous with the rest of nature. These different metaphysical systems demand different ethical stances toward creation.
Benzoni analyzes and challenges Thomas''s understanding of the human soul, his primary justification for the moral separation, arguing that it is finally philosophically untenable. The author finds promising the alternative metaphysics of Whitehead, for whom human beings are a part of natureeven if the highest part; all creatures have a degree of subjectivity and creativity, and thus all have intrinsic value and moral worth, independent o
Trade Review
“Eminently clear in concept and analysis, profound in insight, and precise in reasoning, this book not only contributes a distinguished study of Aquinas but also reshapes contemporary ecological ethics by relating it to basic issues of metaphysics. Both subsequent moral theory attentive to Aquinas and subsequent formulations of ecological ethics will be incomplete without taking account of Benzoni's argument.” —Franklin I. Gamwell, Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor of Religious Ethics, the Philosophy of Religion, and Theology, The University of Chicago Divinity School
“In the introduction and conclusion, Francisco Benzoni makes clear the broader significance of this work for the field of ecological ethics and the future well-being of the human species on this earth. One can learn a great deal about the philosophy of both Aquinas and Whitehead in working through these pages.” —Joseph Bracken, Xavier University
“Aquinas believes that humans are finally separate from nature and that the former have moral worth and the latter does not; Whitehead believes that all entities exist along a metaphysical spectrum and all creatures have some degree of moral worth. Taking these two positions as a starting point, Benzoni explores such topics as the metaphysical grounding of goodness, the soul as an entity, and intrinsic value and moral worth.” —Research Book News
“Benzoni does an admirable job once again in managing to present very challenging and complex material in a clear and accessibly way. Benzoni's focus on the metaphysics of the soul as the primary basis for the bifurcation of humans from non-humans is both interesting and suggestive. His critique of Aquinas should interest anyone concerned with the metaphysics of value and its history, and his sketch of a Whiteheadian alternative will also be helpful to anyone interested in rethinking our place within nature and the general scheme of things.” —Philosophy in Review
“Benzoni's excellent and challenging work is a densely argued analysis of the metaphysical foundations of ethical systems, mainly those of Thomas Aquinas and Alfred North Whitehead, with a view to providing an adequate basis for an ethical understanding of the ecological crisis facing the world today. Highly recommended.” —Catholic Books Review
“Benzoni’s contribution to environmental ethics is to present a careful analysis of why Thomas Aquinas’ metaphysical theory is wrong, and to propose that of Alfred North Whitehead in its stead. Benzoni’s exposition is valuable in being accessible to an inquirer, and particularly to one coming from the scholastic tradition of Thomas Aquinas.” —Environmental Ethics
