TOS Weekly - “Ecofeminism,” The Foundations of Knowledge, and More
Plus the proper American response to Iran, Steve Jobs' philosophy of life, and Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
Welcome to this week’s TOS Weekly!
In the forty-five years since Carolyn Merchant released The Death of Nature, academics have widely accepted her package-dealing of feminism and environmentalism into the gestalt concept of “ecofeminism.” As Margherita Bovo’s new review describes, this anti-concept is built on Merchant’s fundamental rejection of the idea that humans are rational beings and her unfounded assumption that science is inherently misogynist—an assumption that has sadly colored academia ever since.
As dire as so many things seem in today’s world, there are also many causes for hope, and high among them is the resurgence once again of protests in Iran. Now is a good time to remind ourselves of how free countries should respond to regimes like the one that Iranian people have been struggling to throw off for decades.
I hope you enjoy this week’s articles.
Thomas Walker-Werth
What’s New?
The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution by Carolyn Merchant (Review)
The Death of Nature was a turning point in ecology and “gender studies.” The comparison between women and nature presented in the book inspired leftwing thinkers to link the two under the banner of “ecofeminism.” Since the 1980s, the study of women’s history in academia has focused largely on the history of “the environment.”
Zachary Porcu and I Discuss the Foundations of Knowledge
I recently spoke with Zachary Porcu on the source and nature of knowledge. Zach is the author of Journey to Reality: Sacramental Life in a Secular Age and the host of the podcast The Roots of Everything.
From the Archive
The Iranian and Saudi Regimes Must Go
As political uprisings and civil wars rage in the Middle East, the need to identify and eliminate the primary threats to American security becomes more urgent by the day.
Steve Jobs' Philosophy of Life
On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone. What fueled his incredible achievements? At root, his philosophy of life.
Thomas Paine: Defender of the Rights of Man
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published the pamphlet Common Sense, which urged Americans to separate from Great Britain and pointed out the shortsightedness and futility of efforts toward reconciliation.
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