Henry David Thoreau and the Moral Agency of Knowing

315 Pages·2003·1.82 MB·English

by  Alfred I. Tauber

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Henry David Thoreau
and the Moral Agency of Knowing
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Henry David Thoreau,1856.(Archives of the Gray
Herbarium,Harvard University;reproduced by permission)
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Henry David Thoreau
and the Moral Agency
of Knowing
alfred i. tauber
University of California Press
berkeley los angeles london
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University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles,California
University of California Press,Ltd.
London,England
©2001by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tauber,Alfred I.
Henry David Thoreau and the moral agency of knowing/
Alfred I.Tauber
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-520-22527-9(acid-free paper)
1.Thoreau,Henry David,1817–1862—Philosophy. 2.Thoreau,
Henry David,1817–1862—Ethics. 3.Knowledge,theory of,in
literature. 4.Romanticism—United States. 5.Positivism. I.Title.
PS3057.P4T38 2001
818′.309—dc21
00-068283
Printed in the United States of America
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally
chlorine-free (TCF).It meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1984(R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). ∞
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For Paula,again
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
introduction 1
1. the eternal now 23
2. three apple trees 45
3. another apple tree 75
4. thoreau at the crossroads 104
5. thoreau’s personalized facts 140
6. thoreau’s moral universe 163
7. the self-positing i 195
epilogue:mending the world 222
Notes 231
References 285
Index 303
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Acknowledgments
T
his study addresses Thoreau from an unusual vantage point.As a histo-
rian and philosopher of science,I note that my own discipline has paid scant
attention to him,but here I wish to claim Thoreau—or,better,to “borrow”
him.He offers a rich grist for the philosopher’s mill and,by extension,to
those current cultural studies that begin with the philosophical questions
he poses:the character of the self,the grounding of moral agency,the nature
of knowledge.Thoreau was no postmodern,but he faced many of the same
challenges we do,and in studying his life,I have come to value the ethical
example he offered.While philosophical readings might enrich the literary
approaches that have dominated Thoreauvian scholarship for a century,I
believe structuring his project on a philosophical edifice also offers critical
insights into certain quandaries that reach into the very mainstream of con-
temporary science studies.
For me,Thoreau is a fascinating “hinge”character residing between an
ebbing Romanticism and a rising positivism.Stretching from early Roman-
ticism to the contemporary molecular revolution,my own endeavor is to
better understand the tension generated by science’s positivist leanings
against both the humane demands of its knowledge and the role of the par-
ticipating scientist.In this respect,Thoreau,usually seen as a naturalist and
champion of the environment,is of interest to me because of the clear fash-
ion in which his life and work have focused the problem of the observer in
this scientific setting.More generally,he exemplifies the difficulty of assign-
ing value to our science that seeks dispassionate objectivity,yet remains
firmly tied to humane understanding.We assign value to our knowledge;
we require placing the self in its world;we seek to use our knowledge for
humane purposes.Each requires the assignment of value and the exercise
of choice.
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