Arran Gare
Encyclopedia
Arran Gare is an Australian philosopher known mainly for his work in environmental philosophy
, philosophy of culture and the metaphysics
of process philosophy
. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology
in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia.
" and other novels. He is also the brother of Shelley Gare
, an Australian author and journalist.
Gare graduated from the University of Western Australia
with a BA (Hons) in philosophy. He then wrote his PhD at Murdoch University
in which he formed his metaphysical process view of the world. Soon after that, he won a Fulbright Fellowship to Boston University
. Gare has taught at Murdoch University, University of Queensland
, Curtin University and Swinburne University. In 2006 he was a Keynote Speaker to the 6th International Whitehead Conference at Salzburg University, Austria, delivering a paper entitled: "Reviving the Radical Enlightenment".
, philosophy of culture and process philosophy
metaphysics. In 1983 with Robert Elliot he published Environmental Philosophy, one of the first anthologies in this field. In 1993 he published Nihilism Incorporated: European Civilization and Environmental Destruction and Beyond European Civilization: Marxism, Process Philosophy and the Environment, and then in 1995 he published Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis. In these works he attempted to explain the ascendance, world domination and environmental destructiveness of European civilization, the failure of orthodox Marxism
as practiced in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to provide a real alternative to this, and the ineffectuality of deconstructive postmodernism
in the face of the ecological crisis confronting humanity, while offering a different path into the future based on a synthesis of process metaphysics, neo-Hegelian political philosophy and eco-Marxism. In 1996 he published Nihilism Inc.: Environmental Destruction and the Metaphysics of Sustainability. He has continued to develop the ideas expounded in these books in a range of journals, book chapters, conferences and conference proceedings.
In more recent work Gare has published in the fields of narratology
, hermeneutics, semiotics
, complexity theory and Christopher Alexander
’s theories of architecture, and called for a revival of the Radical Enlightenment
as the true heir of the Renaissance
struggle for democracy and a new relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically, he has been concerned to develop more adequate theoretical foundations for human ecology to provide an alternative to economics as the core discipline for formulating public policy, and has been developing a form of retrospective path analysis as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis
as a framework for formulating such policy.
A critical review of his work has been made from within the domain of process philosophy by McLaren.
Environmental philosophy
Environmental philosophy is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural environment and humans' place within it. Environmental philosophy includes environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, ecofeminism and environmental theology...
, philosophy of culture and the metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
of process philosophy
Process philosophy
Process philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. Since the time of Plato and Aristotle, philosophers have posited true reality as "timeless", based on permanent substances, whilst processes are denied or subordinated to timeless substances...
. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia.
Biography
Gare is the son of Frank Gare ISO, former Commissioner for Native Welfare and Regional Director of Aboriginal Affairs in Western Australia, and Nene Gare, author of "The Fringe DwellersThe Fringe Dwellers
The Fringe Dwellers is a 1961 novel written by the Western Australian author Nene Gare. It was made into a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford.-The Film:...
" and other novels. He is also the brother of Shelley Gare
Shelley Gare
Shelley Gare is a Walkley award-winning Australian freelance journalist, editor and author. She has held some of Australia's most senior magazine editor positions including editor of both Good Weekend and Sunday Life.-Early life and career:...
, an Australian author and journalist.
Gare graduated from the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
with a BA (Hons) in philosophy. He then wrote his PhD at Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
in which he formed his metaphysical process view of the world. Soon after that, he won a Fulbright Fellowship to Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. Gare has taught at Murdoch University, University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, Curtin University and Swinburne University. In 2006 he was a Keynote Speaker to the 6th International Whitehead Conference at Salzburg University, Austria, delivering a paper entitled: "Reviving the Radical Enlightenment".
Research
Gare's work is mainly in environmental philosophyEnvironmental philosophy
Environmental philosophy is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural environment and humans' place within it. Environmental philosophy includes environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, ecofeminism and environmental theology...
, philosophy of culture and process philosophy
Process philosophy
Process philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. Since the time of Plato and Aristotle, philosophers have posited true reality as "timeless", based on permanent substances, whilst processes are denied or subordinated to timeless substances...
metaphysics. In 1983 with Robert Elliot he published Environmental Philosophy, one of the first anthologies in this field. In 1993 he published Nihilism Incorporated: European Civilization and Environmental Destruction and Beyond European Civilization: Marxism, Process Philosophy and the Environment, and then in 1995 he published Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis. In these works he attempted to explain the ascendance, world domination and environmental destructiveness of European civilization, the failure of orthodox Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
as practiced in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to provide a real alternative to this, and the ineffectuality of deconstructive postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
in the face of the ecological crisis confronting humanity, while offering a different path into the future based on a synthesis of process metaphysics, neo-Hegelian political philosophy and eco-Marxism. In 1996 he published Nihilism Inc.: Environmental Destruction and the Metaphysics of Sustainability. He has continued to develop the ideas expounded in these books in a range of journals, book chapters, conferences and conference proceedings.
In more recent work Gare has published in the fields of narratology
Narratology
Narratology denotes both the theory and the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception. While in principle the word may refer to any systematic study of narrative, in practice its usage is rather more restricted. It is an anglicisation of French...
, hermeneutics, semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
, complexity theory and Christopher Alexander
Christopher Alexander
Christopher Wolfgang Alexander is a registered architect noted for his theories about design, and for more than 200 building projects in California, Japan, Mexico and around the world...
’s theories of architecture, and called for a revival of the Radical Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
as the true heir of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
struggle for democracy and a new relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically, he has been concerned to develop more adequate theoretical foundations for human ecology to provide an alternative to economics as the core discipline for formulating public policy, and has been developing a form of retrospective path analysis as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...
as a framework for formulating such policy.
A critical review of his work has been made from within the domain of process philosophy by McLaren.
Foundation of a Journal
He is the founder and a chief editor of the online journal "Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy" (ISSN: 1832-9101) which is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal of natural and social philosophy. Quoting the journal: "It serves those who see philosophy's vocation in questioning and challenging prevailing assumptions about ourselves and our place in the world, developing new ways of thinking about physical existence, life, humanity and society, so helping to create the future insofar as thought affects the issue. Philosophy so conceived is not exclusively identified with the work of professional philosophers, and the journal welcomes contributions from philosophically oriented thinkers from all disciplines."Other Positions
- The founder and director of the Joseph Needham Centre for Complex Processes Research.
- A founder and first chairman of the board of the education cooperative 'Akademos'.
- One of the founders of the Association for the Public University.
- Senior Researcher of the Institute for the Postmodern Development of China. China Project of the Center for Process Studies, Claremont, California.
- Since 2005, a member of the International Advisory Board, The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy.
Books
- 1983: Robert Elliot and Arran E. Gare eds, Environmental Philosophy, St Lucia: U.Q.P.; London: Open University Press; University Park: Penn. State University Press.
- 1993: Arran Gare, Nihilism Incorporated: European Civilization and Environmental Destruction, Bungendore: Eco-Logical Press; Cambridge: Whitehorse Press. Read online
- 1993: Arran Gare, Beyond European Civilization: Marxism, Process Philosophy and the Environment, Bungendore: Eco-Logical Press, Cambridge: Whitehorse Press. Read online
- 1995: Arran Gare, Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis, London: Routledge.
- 1996: Arran Gare, Nihilism Inc.: Environmental Destruction and the Metaphysics of Sustainability, Sydney: Eco-Logical Press. Read online
Articles
- “Narratives and Culture”. Telos 122 (Winter 1992). New York: Telos Press.
- Full Publication List including online publications.