Calling post-modernism merely "the last tortured gasps of the old paradigm, not the birth-cries of the new," Martin (affiliations, academic or otherwise, not noted) seeks to move along to a "post-Western" perspective on history. He writes from a Green viewpoint (anarchist, feminist, and ecological), giving much credit to American anarchist Murray Bookchin, who he calls the last great Western philosopher. Double-spaced. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

Greening the Past argues that 'western civilization' is rapidly approaching a crisis unique in world history, and that a new world-view now emerging is best encapsulated by a Green, anarchist-ecological analysis. The approach outlined in this book embraces general systems theory and recent discoveries in physics as well as key philosophical issues such as the nature of time, objectivity and causality, and an eco-psychological view of human nature. It includes new interpretations of the place of myth and language in historical (...) writing and urges a re-evaluation of the dialectical method. (shrink)