Description: Pioneering essays that reveal the significance of new interdisciplinary understandings of trees and forests, especially in terms of their philosophical and ecological dimensions and their importance for addressing the climate emergency.
Brief description: David Macauley is Academy Professor and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Penn State University.
Review Quotes:
"The Wisdom of Trees is a significant and timely work. It advances critical conversations about arboreal ontology, environmental ethics, and the political status of nonhuman beings. It also models how interdisciplinary scholarship can illuminate urgent ecological questions. For scholars, teachers, and researchers seeking to deepen their understanding of human-tree relations, this volume offers both intellectual rigor and imaginative possibility. It invites readers not only to think about trees but to think with them-an invitation that feels increasingly vital in an era of ecological precarity." - H-Net Reviews (H-Environment)
"This richly varied collection offers a fascinating path through a forest of ruminations on trees from a wide range of perspectives. Replete with vivid insights into the arboreal universe, the disciplinary range of the contributions is remarkably broad and their topics even more so. This is a unique contribution." - Arnold Berleant, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, C. W. Post Center, Long Island University