Nature and normativity: New inquiries into the natural world

This forum follows the format of two previous discussions featured on The Immanent Frame: “Science and the soul: New inquiries into Islamic ethics” (2018) and “Modernity’s resonances: New inquiries into the secular” (2019). Scholars will discuss three recent books that consider how nature and natural processes are understood to mediate normative principles and ethical guidelines. The three books included in this discussion are Black Lives and Sacred Humanity by Carol Wayne White (Fordham University Press, 2016), The Gospel of Climate Skepticism by Robin Globus Veldman (University of California Press, 2019), and Muslim Environmentalisms by Anna M. Gade (Columbia University Press, 2019). Respondents in this forum were asked to reflect on these books and the themes and topics emergent from them.

Begin by reading editorial board member Lisa Sideris’s introduction to the forum, which she cocurated with TIF editor Mona Oraby. Sideris provides an overview of the common themes, questions, narratives, and frames that emerge from the books and essays. Then, check back each week as a new book is featured with essays by the author and two other scholars. These essays will be followed with additional reflection essays from the book authors and a concluding essay.

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