I grew up in the countryside in the south-west of England. I have studied various subjects at university and have a BSc in Environmental Studies (first-class honours), an MA in Philosophy (Distinction), a BA in Economics (2.1), and a PhD in Philosophy. My PhD work forms the basis of my book: "An Evolutionary Perspective on the Relationship Between Humans and Their Surroundings". I have also been published in a peer-reviewed academic philosophy journal and in 2008 I won an international philosophical writing competition (the first prize was 1000 Euros). The winning essay can be found in my book 'How much of man is natural?'. In September 2008 I presented the winning essay to the international conference of the Spinoza-Gesellschaft in Marburg, Germany. In 2009 I was awarded a scholarship to present my work at the Venice Summer School on Evolution and Human Uniqueness.
My main interest is whether the human species has an important place in an evolving planet, and whether life has an important place in an evolving universe. A closely related interest is the question of the degree of similarity that exists between humans and non-human animals, and the degree of similarity that exists between humans and the wider non-human universe. In my work I address the question of what exactly the 'human species' is, and the question of what exactly 'life' is. I also seek to outline what all of this means for the lives of individual humans in terms of their decisions and actions.
To put all of this succinctly, the main theme underlying my work is the nature of the relationship that exists between the human species and the rest of the universe in an evolutionary context, and how this plays out in the lives of individual humans. My work is a synthesis of the philosophical, the environmental and the spiritual. One of the 'controversial' views developed in my work is that the purpose of the human species is to geoengineer the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. I have also been developing a particular view of the nature of the universe; I call this view 'panwhat-it-is-likeness'.
You can find some excerpts of my work, and discuss issues surrounding my interests, at my blog and my Facebook page:
http://neilpaulcummins.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Neil-Paul-Cummins/333142776758442
As I say on my blog, the books I would recommend having a look at are:
Is the Human Species Special?: Why human-induced global warming could be in the interests of life
An Evolutionary Perspective on the Relationship between Humans and their Surroundings: Geoengineering, the purpose of life & the nature of the universe
Saviours or Destroyers: The relationship between the human species and the rest of life on Earth
What Does it Mean to be 'Green'?: Sustainability, Respect & Spirituality
These four books contain different aspects of my view of the relationship between humans and the rest of the universe. I particularly like my latest book - 'Saviours or Destroyers' - as it gets straight to the heart of the issue of the nature of the relationship between humans and the rest of life on Earth, and it is a very easy read. However, if you want to understand why I am convinced that human-induced global warming is in the interests of life, then you will probably need to read all of the above books! If you are particularly interested in vegetarianism then you might also like my short book on this topic.
