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Quote by Jedediah Purdy

“The history of environmental lawmaking suggests that people are best able to change their ways when they find two things at once in nature: something to fear, a threat they must avoid, and also something to love, a quality they can admire or respect, and which they can do their best to honor. The first impulse, of fear, can be rendered in purely human-centered terms, as a matter of avoiding environmental crisis. The second impulse, of love, engages animist intuitions and carries us toward post-humanism, which is perhaps just another name for an enriched humanism. Either impulse can stay the human hand, but the first stops it just short of being burnt or broken. The second keeps the hand poised, extended in greeting or in an offer of peace. This gesture is the beginning of collaboration, among people but also beyond us, in building our next home.”

Quote by Jedediah Purdy

Work

After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene

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Author

Jedediah Purdy
Jedediah Purdy

Jedediah Purdy is an American author recognized for his writings on law, literature, and politics. Born in 1974, he has made significant contributions to the understanding of contemporary legal issues and their societal impact. His work often bridges the gap between law, literature, and politics, offering a nuanced perspective on the human experience and the role of law in shaping it. more

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“What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realise that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system: but as long as men are twisters or bullies they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.”