Henry David Thoreau: Greatness of Soul and Environmental Virtue

Andrew J. Corsa

doi:10.5840/envirophil201511326

Henry David Thoreau: Greatness of Soul and Environmental Virtue

Andrew J. Corsa^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Colorado State University - Pueblo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

I read Henry David Thoreau as an environmental virtue theorist. In this paper, I use Thoreau’s work as a tool to explore the relation between the virtue of greatness of soul and environmental virtues. Reflecting on connections between Thoreau’s texts and historical discussions of greatness of soul, or magnanimity, I offer a novel conception of magnanimity. I argue that (1) to become magnanimous, most individuals need to acquire the environmental virtue of simplicity; and (2) magnanimous individuals must possess the environmental virtue of benevolence in order to achieve their goals.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	161-184
Number of pages	24
Journal	Environmental Philosophy
Volume	12
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5840/envirophil201511326
State	Published - 2015
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

This article was published before Dr. Andrew J. Corsa joined Lynn University.

Access to Document

10.5840/envirophil201511326License: Unspecified

http://spiral.lynn.edu/facpubs/1495

Cite this

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