Feminism and the Mastery of Nature

This book draws on the feminist critique of reason to argue that the master form of rationality of western culture has been systematically unable to acknowledge dependency on nature, the sphere of those it has defined as 'inferior' others. Because its knowledge of the world is systematically distorted by the elite domination which has shaped it, the master rationality has developed 'blind spots' which may threaten our survival. The future depends increasingly on our ability to create a truly democratic and ecological culture beyond dualism.

Introduction; Chapter 1 Feminism and ecofeminism; Chapter 2 Dualism: the logic of colonisation; Chapter 3 Plato and the philosophy of death; Chapter 4 Descartes and the dream of power; Chapter 5 Mechanism and mind/nature dualism; Chapter 6 Ethics and the instrumentalising self; Chapter 7 Deep ecology and the denial of difference; Conclusion: Changing the Master Story; Notes;