The Tangled Bank - Toward an Ecotheological Ethics of Responsible Participation (Paperback)

In response to the confluence of moral uncertainty with the increase of human power to alter nature, and through critical integration of the philosophical naturalism of Hans Jonas and the religious naturalism of James M. Gustafson, The Tangled Bank argues for an ecotheological ethics of responsible participation. By making the case that contemporary moral pressures call for a vision that is as deeply naturalistic as it is theological, a critical perspective is advanced that is attuned to human embeddedness within nature as well as to human distinctiveness. In support of this, a moral anthropological method is deployed as a creative new way to integrate the comparative, critical, and constructive tasks of theological ethics. The insights of Hans Jonas and James M. Gustafson, interpreted comparatively for the rst time, are critically drawn together to suggest new directions for scholarship and teaching in theology, religion, and science studies. "In his elegantly written book, Michael Hogue insightfully compares two leading gures dedicated to reconstructing ethics in the light of our environmental situation, the philosopher Hans Jonas and James M. Gustafson, a Christian theologian.... This book is a welcome addition to religious and philosophical re ection on ecology and ethics. I heartily commend it to anyone and everyone engaged with the pressing moral challenges we all now face." - William Schweiker, author of 'Theological Ethics and Global Dynamics' "Michael Hogue takes the interaction between environmental and Christian ethics to a new and satisfying level.... He writes with clarity, grace, depth, and humour." - John Opie, author of 'Nature's Nation' "Michael Hogue breaks down the usual stereotypes about the value of philosophy and theology and challenges his readers to expand our ideas about how to live on Earth. Scholarly yet lucidly written and engaging, this book charts new territory in environmental thinking." - Jerome A. Stone, author of 'The Minimalist Vision of Transcendence' Michael S. Hogue is Assistant Professor of Theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School (Chicago, Illinois). He is the author of 'Varieties of Religious Ethics and the Vulnerability of Life' (forthcoming).