Author Description

Is nature an objective reality unaffected, in its beautiful simplicity, by time, culture, and place? What does this extraordinarily complex term mean? These are the riveting questions examined by Peter Coates as he demonstrates that nature, like us, has a history. Beginning with Roman times, he lifts the veil of nature and reveals the ideological and material factors that have influenced human perceptions of, attitudes to, and uses of nature - notably religion and ethics, science, technology, economics, gender, and ethnicity. The book is essential reading for those who seek an understanding of the history of ideas and the role of nature in that history.