Modern environmentalism has come to realize that many of its key concerns-'wilderness' and 'nature' among them-are contested territory, viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology, to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task.
"... Interpreting Nature is engaging throughout and contributes to an important growth in environmental philosophy."
Environmental Values
"This is a superb book, written with clarity, precision, and deep feeling for a better understanding of differing approaches to interpreting the wider natural world."
Mark Wallace, Swarthmore College
"Interpreting Nature is an excellent collection of essays. This collection is a very welcome addition to the literature and helps to move forward philosophical reflection on the idea of 'nature' and charts new and important ways to think about the task of an environmental ethics."