Kill ‘Nature’ in Order to Save It: The Rousseauian Dichotomy and Ecological Theory

Date

2025-6-30

Author

Birler, Reşide Ömür

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This study seeks to unravel the intricate relationship between Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thought and ecological theory by foregrounding the concept of alienation as the central axis around which his philosophy turns. While much of the ecological literature emphasizes Rousseau’s moral reverence for nature—manifest in his opposition to instrumental rationality, his emphasis on pity, and his advocacy of a land ethic—such interpretations often isolate his moral writings from the broader context of his political and economic philosophy. In doing so, they risk overlooking the inherent paradoxes embedded in Rousseau’s work. By tracing the transition from natural to political alienation, this study argues that Rousseau’s remedy to humanity’s estrangement from nature involves an even deeper alienation—one that is formal, intentional, and institutionalized. This second alienation may indeed enable the reconstitution of freedom or virtue, but only at the cost of severing the organic bond between humankind and the natural world. Consequently, Rousseau presents a profound and unresolved tension between the moral necessity of unity with nature and the political imperatives of civic life.

Subject Keywords

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ecological theory, alienation, nature, ekolojik kuram, yabancılaşma, doğa

URI

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/metusd/issue/93165/1695204
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115124

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Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Article