The Wisdom of Trees: Thinking Through Arboreality

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David Macauley (Penn State University, Brandywine) Laura Pustarfi (California Institute of Integral Studies)

The Wisdom of Trees

Thinking Through Arboreality

David Macauley (Penn State University, Brandywine), Laura Pustarfi (California Institute of Integral Studies)

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English

State University of New York Press
02 December 2025

Philosophy: aesthetics; Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Applied ecology; Trees, wildflowers & plants

Series: SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics

Pioneering essays that reveal the significance of new interdisciplinary understandings of trees and forests, especially in terms of their philosophical and ecological dimensions and their importance for addressing the climate emergency.

This is the first book to apply philosophical thinking to trees. Through a series of sixteen diverse essays by leading scholars and writers, along with an in-depth introduction to the key issues and ideas, it examines the new and emerging understanding of trees in science and society. Contributors show how these developments encourage a revisioning of philosophical thought and a more sustainable relationship with trees and forests-a reconceptualization with important ecological and social implications for responding to deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, and the climate emergency. The interdisciplinary contributions in this collection investigate the many interconnected dimensions of arboreality, focusing on subjects related to time, mind, truth, memory, being, beauty, goodness, silence, wisdom, personhood, and death. The volume engages in a conversation about why trees matter, how they can best be protected, our obligations to them, and even what or who they are. Most of the chapters are informed by natural history or ecological science and many share a particular emphasis on continental philosophy and the environmental humanities.

Edited by: David Macauley (Penn State University Brandywine), Laura Pustarfi (California Institute of Integral Studies)
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 31mm
Weight: 644g
ISBN: 9798855802719
Series: SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
Pages: 472
Publication Date: 02 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

David Macauley is Academy Professor and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Penn State University. Laura Pustarfi is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religion as well as Director of the Certificate Program at the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Reviews for The Wisdom of Trees: Thinking Through Arboreality

""This richly varied collection offers a fascinating path through a forest of ruminations on trees from a wide range of perspectives. Replete with vivid insights into the arboreal universe, the disciplinary range of the contributions is remarkably broad and their topics even more so. This is a unique contribution."" — Arnold Berleant, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, C. W. Post Center, Long Island University