Feminism and the Mastery of Nature

Val Plumwood lays foundations for feminist ecology, bringing feminist and postcolonial theory to bear on the problems of environmental philosophy.

Two of the most important political movements of the late twentieth century are those of environmentalism and feminism. In this book, Val Plumwood argues that feminist theory has an important opportunity to make a major contribution to the debates in political ecology and environmental philosophy.
Feminism and the Mastery of Nature explains the relation between ecofeminism, or ecological feminism, and other feminist theories including radical green theories such as deep ecology. Val Plumwood provides a philosophically informed account of the relation of women and nature, and shows how relating male domination to the domination of nature is important and yet remains a dilemma for women.

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;