RORTY AND POSTMODERN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS - RECONTEXTUALIZING NARRATIVE, REASON, AND REPRESENTATION

Richard Rorty's pragmatic abandonment of epistemological representatio nalism has important implications for environmental ethics, particular ly postmodern environmental ethics. I discuss Rorty's position and sho w that Mark Sagoff's version of it allows for both rational negotiatio n of public environmental issues and for the creation of solidarity am ong people regarding the environment. I then discuss Eugene Hargrove's view that representation, rather than being implicated in the destruc tion of nature, is a key element in preserving (the intrinsic value of ) nature. I conclude that Hargrove's position is compatible with Rorty 's and Sagoff's positions and I argue that aesthetic representation ma y still be needed in a postmodern world that has abandoned epistemolog ical representationalism.