Carolyn Merchant is an American ecofeminist philosopher and historian of science most famous for her theory (and book of the same title) on The Death of Nature, whereby she identifies the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century as the period when science began to atomize, objectify, and dissect nature, foretelling its eventual conception as composed of inert atomic particles. Her works are important in the development of environmental history and the history of science. She is Professor emerita of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics at UC Berkeley.
this was a good book to read in french because it was short and easy to understand! I’m interested in reading this in english as well to se show it compares. this does definitely feel like a foundational eco feminist text as it says on the back cover. I wish she had talked a bit more about how the evolution of society’s attitude towards nature as a force to control and dominate translated to shifts in the status of women though. But I enjoyed!
Still a very engaging, ambitious, and informative read fifty years on - some of her points have perhaps become a bit standardised but that stands only as testament to the quality of Merchant’s theory and insight.