Val Plumwood Knihy

The book critiques Western rationality, highlighting its failure to recognize humanity's dependency on nature and marginalized groups deemed 'inferior.' It argues that this distorted understanding, shaped by elite domination, creates dangerous 'blind spots' that jeopardize survival. Emphasizing the need for a shift towards a genuinely democratic and ecological culture, it advocates for overcoming dualistic thinking to foster a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Val Plumwood was an eminent environmental philosopher and activist who was prominent in the development of radical ecophilosophy from the early 1970s until her death in 2008. Her book Feminism and the Mastery of Nature (1992) has become a classic. In 1985 she was attacked by a crocodile while kayaking alone in the Kakadu national park in the Northern Territory. She was death rolled three times before being released from the crocodile's jaws. She crawled for hours through swamp with appalling injuries before being rescued. The experience made her well placed to write about cultural responses to death and predation. The first section of The Eye of the Crocodile consists of chapters intended for a book on crocodiles that remained unfinished at the time of Val's death. The remaining chapters are previously published papers brought together to form an overview of Val's ideas on death, predation and nature.

Val Plumwood explores the deep-seated issues in our perception of the environment, emphasizing the need to regard nature as an end in itself rather than merely a resource. She critiques current cultural attitudes and presents a compelling case for a transformative shift in how society interacts with the natural world. Through diverse examples, Plumwood advocates for a new cultural understanding that prioritizes ecological integrity and fosters a healthier relationship with the environment.