Description: How do we, as individuals, accommodate a pessimistic and misanthropic view of the world? If the human condition is impossible to ameliorate, then how should we live? To bring about the wellbeing and happiness we seek, argues Cooper, requires a quietism that seeks refuge from the everyday human world in nature.
Brief description: David E. Cooper is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. He has been a Visiting Professor in many countries, including the USA, Canada, Malta, Sri Lanka and South Africa. His many books include Pessimism, Quietism and Nature as Refuge (Agenda, 2024), Animals and Misanthropy (Routledge, 2018), Senses of Mystery: Engaging with Nature and the Meaning of Life (Routledge, 2018), A Philosophy of Gardens (Oxford University Press, 2006), World Philosophies: An Historical Introduction (Blackwell, 2003 2nd ed.) and The Measure of Things: Humanism, Humility and Mystery (Oxford University Press, 2002). He is also the author of novels and short stories.
Review Quotes:
A personal, provocative, and important new book ... makes an alarmingly eloquent case for a misanthropic pessimism that will force reflection on the conditions for living well ... He deals with dark topics, yet with a light touch ... wonderfully rich in literary and philosophical allusions ... Cooper is an unwavering and subtle mentor who puts us in touch with ancient wisdom in a rich language that derives from many traditions, bringing them into conversation with each other.
--Michael McGhee, Los Angeles Review of Books