alienation can be 'vital, productive'

Three days ago, my co-editor Wallace Heim wrote a guest post about a recent philosophy conference she had attended in Liverpool on the theme of 'alienation and environment'. Her blog compared that event with a nearby exhibition by artists on environmental issues.

At one point, the blog said, the philosophers considered if there was something in the estrangement between humans and nature 'which is vital, productive, even necessary'.

It was a striking thought. I posted a comment asking: 'what kind of examples did people come up with?'

Wallace's detailed reply appears in two parts in the comment section. (Two parts because each comment can only run to 4,096 characters).

To quote two quick examples from her reply: feminism is discussed as a form of alienation and a critical process of change; and 'nature' is seen as deeply embedded in the materials that create the urban environment.