Gardening - Philosophy for Everyone

Acknowledgements
 
Dan O'Brien
 
Foreword
 
David Cooper
 
Planting the Seed: An Introduction to Gardening - Philosophy for Everyone
 
Dan O'Brien
 
Part I: The Good Life
 
Part II: Flower Power
 
Part III: The Flower Show
 
Part IV: The Cosmic Garden
 
Part V: Philosophers' Gardens
 
Appendix A: Notes on Contributors

Editor
 
Dan O'Brien is a Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, an Honorary Research Fellow at Birmingham University, and an Associate Lecturer with the Open University. He is the author of An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge (2006) and Hume's "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding": A Reader's Guide (with Alan Bailey, 2006). In addition, he has recently edited a special volume of Philosophica on the epistemology of testimony.
 
Series Editor
 
Fritz Allhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007).

"A new book on the philosophy of gardening - edited by Dan O'Brien and Fritz Allhoff - has been written by and for the green-thumbed thinker, the practical gardener, the salad gardener, the architect, the archaeologist, and the artist at work among the ferns". (Horticulture Week, 12 January 2011) "Either way, it is an engaging and enjoyable read, and readers of the ERB will certainly want to stay tuned for future volumes in this diverse - and apparently all-encompassing - series!". (Englewood Review of Books, 28 December 2010) "Another essay takes a slightly different slant on Miller's theme, showing how gardens exist as patterns in time, just as music does. Overall, too many of these essays treat of the garden as a metaphor rather than as an actuality. But such books are rarely seen, and this one provides more than enough food for thought amid acres of identikit 'your kitchen-garden' and allotment books." (The Telegraph, 7 December 2010)

"Intriguing ideas combined with a philosophical method ofinquiry bring the benefits of gardening into the 21stcentury. Gardening Philosophy for Everyone: CultivatingWisdomproduces what the title suggests - it cultivates andgrows the body of knowledge about gardening, exploring the value ofgardening past and present for multiple disciplines." ( Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture , 1 November 2012)
"So pull up a chair, relax under a shady canopy and delve into thefascinating garden-related philosophies contained in this mostinteresting read." (Australian Horticulture, 1 March 2011)"A goodmix of topics, ideas and arguments - a very good and meaty read."(Gardensandpeople.co.uk, 1 March 2011)
"Reading this book has been an experience so enchanting, that Iam eager to revisit each of the essays, to re submerge myself intheir expertise. If one is a gardener, this is a publicationreserved for cold winter nights or long plane rides; for thenon-gardener, it is an engaging private symposium. One might alsocall it "variations on a theme of gardening", enriched by diverseintellectual disciplines and unexpected perspectives of thecontributing authors." (Gardenguru, 29 March 2011)

"Reading this book has been an experience so enchanting, that Iam eager to revisit each of the essays, to re submerge myself intheir expertise. If one is a gardener, this is a publicationreserved for cold winter nights or long plane rides; for thenon-gardener, it is an engaging private symposium. One might alsocall it "variations on a theme of gardening", enriched by diverseintellectual disciplines and unexpected perspectives of thecontributing writers." (Bookpleasures.com, 26 March 2011)

"There s nothing too difficult philosophically in this book,so definitely one for any thoughtful gardeners, philosophers ornot." (Wittgenstein s Watering Can, 21 April 2011)

"Finally, we have a book which celebrates and examines the topicof gardens and gardening in a way that involves more than simplyhelping