Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations: Ancient Guides to Living with Nature (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781108839587)

The Greeks and Romans have been charged with destroying the ecosystems within which they lived. In this book, however, M. D. Usher argues rather that we can find in their lives and thought the origin of modern ideas about systems and sustainability, important topics for humans today and in the future. With chapters running the gamut of Greek and Roman experience - from the Presocratics and Plato to Roman agronomy and the Benedictine Rule - Plato's Pigs brings together unlikely bedfellows, both ancient and modern, to reveal surprising connections. Lively prose and liberal use of anecdotal detail, including an afterword about the author's own experiments with sustainable living on his sheep farm in Vermont, add a strong authorial voice. In short, this is a unique, first-of-its-kind book that is sure to be of interest to anyone working in Classics, environmental studies, philosophy, ecology, or the history of ideas.

Author: M. D. Usher
ISBN-10: 1108839584
ISBN-13: 9781108839587
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/15/2020
Pages: 282
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 14.61h x 6.32w x 0.78d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2022