Come with Old Khayyam and Leave the Wise to Talk

摘要

In the last thirty years, many ecophilosophies have come and gone. Visions of ecological reform and re-Alignment have been rolling plentifully off the presses. Yet the ecological crisis, globally and at home, has only worsened. Why have ecophilosophical ideas failed to change social patterns of behaviour to any significant degree? Can theory change behaviour? Or is theory itself the problem? Is it theory which distances us from reality and thereby creates the moral gap between ourselves and the biosphere? If so, what contribution can philosophers and scholars possibly make towards an effective response to the current biosphere emergency?