Humans, Nature, and Democracy: American Pragmatism
A key interest of the Center is to revitalize and strengthen the philosophical and ethical foundations of the conservation movement in the United States and around the world. Engaged activity oriented toward politics, lobbying, and policy reform are vital to the causes of conservation and environmentalism, to be sure. But it is no less important to nurture the traditions, values, and ideals that stand behind these movements for the purposes of clarification, strategic planning, civic education, and so that the next generation of conservation scientists and citizens devoted to the preservation, health, and resiliency of human and natural communities can be reared.
One important aspect of strengthening these foundations and this tradition is to explore the history of American conservationism and to explore its intersection with other significant intellectual movements. In this project we focus on the formative early years of the 20th century and the interconnections between conservation and the Progressive movement. Progressivism, which overlapped with pragmatism in philosophy, paved the way for a new state formation, with more far-reaching and sophisticated regulatory capabilities and a new civil society to emerge in America. Herbert Croley, John Dewey, Aldo Leopold, Louis Mumford, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many others are among the seminal thinkers who shaped the thinking of this period in ways that still resonate today.
(A collaboration with New School University.)