Freya Mathews is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

environmental philosopher whose main work has been in the areas of ecological metaphysics and

panpsychism In the philosophy of mind, panpsychism () is the view that the mind or a mindlike aspect is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. It is also described as a theory that "the mind is a fundamental feature of the world which exists thro ...

. Her current special interests are in

ecological civilization Ecological civilization is the hypothetical concept that describes the alleged final goal of social and environmental reform within a given society. It implies that the changes required in response to global climate disruption and social injustices ...

; indigenous (Australian and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

) perspectives on "

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

" and how these perspectives may be adapted to the context of contemporary global society; panpsychism and critique of the metaphysics of modernity; and wildlife ethics and rewilding in the context of the

Anthropocene The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change. , neither the International Commissi ...

. Mathews has been teaching in Australian universities since 1979. She currently holds the post of Adjunct Professor of Environmental Philosophy at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

. Mathews is the author of several books and over seventy articles on ecological philosophy,

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

, and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. In addition to her research activities she manages a private biodiversity reserve in northern Victoria, Australia. She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Works

Mathews's philosophy features a holistic approach to environmental ethics with a metaphysical basis. Particularly, she draws from

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

's notion of "ethic of interconnectedness", which treats the features of the natural world as attributes of the same underlying substance. Her advocacy of ontopoetics, which she described as a meaningful communicative exchanges between self and the world, is an aspect to this philosophical view. She also promotes a kind of ecocentrism to address and sustain inconvenient, and time-consuming conservation practice.

Selected publications

* ''The Ecological Self'', Routledge, London, 1991. Reissued 1993; paperback 1994 * ''For Love of Matter: A Contemporary Panpsychism'', SUNY Press, Albany, 2003 * ''Journey to the Source of the Merri'', Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003 * ''Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture'', SUNY Press, Albany, 2005 * ''Ardea: a Philosophical Novella,'' Punctum Books, New York, 2016 * ''Without Animals Life is not Worth Living,'' Ginninderra Press, Adelaide, 2016

References

(2006)
"Minding (about) Matter: On the Eros and Anguish of Earthly Encounter."
A review essay engaging with Freya Mathews' two recent titles: ''For Love of Matter: A Contemporary Panpsychism'' and ''Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture'' in ''Australian Humanities Review'', Volume 28.
Book Review of ''Reinhabiting Reality''
''Trumpeter, Vol 24, No 3 (2008)''
Book review of ''For Love of Matter''
* Soren Brier,
Trust in the Order of Things
, review of ''The Ecological Self'', ''Systems Practice'', 9,4, 1996 pp 377–385 * Bonnett, M 2002,
Education for sustainability as a frame of mind
''Environmental Education Research'', vol 8, no. 1, pp. 9–20

on the Panexperientialim blog * A post on th

* Entry on Freya Mathews in Julie Newman (ed),
Green Ethics and Philosophy: an A – Z Guide
', Sage, 2011 ;Books *B. Baxter, ''Ecologism: An Introduction'' (Georgetown University Press, 2000), pp 16–33, 58-79. *E. de Jonge, ''Spinoza and Deep Ecology: Challenging Traditional Approaches to Environmentalism'' (Routledge, 2016), Ch. 3. *J. Franklin, ''Corrupting the Youth: A History of Philosophy in Australia'' (Macleay Press, 2003), ch. 13. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Freya Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women philosophers 21st-century Australian philosophers Australian environmentalists Australian women environmentalists Epistemologists 20th-century Australian philosophers Panpsychism 20th-century Australian women Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities

Works

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading