"The Death of Nature" is one of Carolyn Merchant's most well known works. In this volume she explores the history of scientific philosophy and theory as it evolved through the Renaissance into Early Modern Europe.

Merchant analyses the evolution from an organismic perspective of nature, where the Earth was seen as alive, to a mechanist view of the cosmos, where the earth, and much of the universe, began to be seen as inanimate matter.

Merchant traces this framework change alongside economic changes from the 16th-18th centuries, demonstrating how proto-capitalism and a perspective of inanimate nature fused into a capitalist method that permitted exploitation of an inaminate nature, along with those perceived as lower on the chain of being - women, Indigenous peoples and black people.

This work is a fascinating insight into the history of scientific thought and proto-capitalism, that truly allows the reader to understand the ways that humanity has historically rationalized exploitation and hierarchy.

I do wish the Franciscans were mentioned alongside other late medieval and Renaissance thinkers of an animate world, as Francis of Assisi was a highly notable medieval thinker that saw God in nature, and could have contributed to this historical overview. ( )

This book remains a classic after over 40 years in print, and rightfully so.

Merchant examines how the Scientific Revolution happened hand-in-hand with the rise of capitalism, the justification of ecological exploitation, and further suppression of women's freedom. Before the Scientific Revolution, nature was seen as an organic whole, and humans were an integral but equal part in this organic system. Science focused on studying the relationships between microcosms and macrocosms and understanding the system as a whole. Nature was portrayed as a goddess who gave bounty in exchange for reverence and harmony.

Then the Scientific Revolution began to focus on laws that can be universally applied, and on breaking things down into small components and understanding those components individually. It also focused on how to exploit nature to get the most out of it in the interests of capitalism. In essence, the Scientific Revolution re-imagined the world as a machine rather than a living organism. A machine has predictable behavior, exists to serve man, and has no life or soul. This shift in thinking completely changed the course of history.

Merchant examines in detail how this shift happened, in both scientific thinking and in literature. It's clear from reading this that the Scientific Revolution was the beginning of rampant capitalism, the current climate crisis, and our difficulty with understanding nature as a whole system instead of as a bunch of discrete parts. It's fascinating to think about how different the world would be if these changes hadn't happened. ( )

What a fascinating and enlightening book. Merchant wonderfully tells the compelling tale of how Western civilization in Europe began seeing the Universe as a dead thing rather than a living being- a pile of resources to be exploited rather than a mother figure to be nourished and nurtured. She looks most pointedly at records from mining charters form the time period in question as well as works previous to that. It seems a definite shift occurred around 1500 concerning our attitude towards Nature and the Earth.

She argues that a more rigid, violent,and paternalistic culture came to dominance at that time, virtually crushing the older more wholistic and maternalistic culture. It allowed us to coldly rationalize our "rape" of what used to be Mother Nature through mining and timber harvesting mainly.

Although Merchant has gone on to argue points and positions much more radical in later years, she has always done so in a rational manner, backed up with solid evidence- she does not simply hollowly bark at ideas she does not like. The Death of Nature is first and foremost a history book. It does end up arguing a more environmental message but only because the evidence leads us that way not because Merchant forces the idea down our throats. ( )

Ökologie, Frauen und neuzeitliche Naturwissenschaft