Blossoming from a correspondence between Luce Irigaray and Michael Marder, Through Vegetal Being is an intense personal, philosophical, and political meditation on the significance of the vegetal for our lives, our ways of thinking, and our relations with human and nonhuman beings. The vegetal world has the potential to rescue our planet and our species and offers us a way to abandon past metaphysics without falling into nihilism. Luce Irigaray has argued in her philosophical work that living and coexisting are deficient unless we recognize sexuate difference as a crucial dimension of our existence. Michael Marder believes the same is true for vegetal difference.Irigaray and Marder consider how plants contribute to human development by sustaining our breathing, nourishing our senses, and keeping our bodies and minds alive. They note the importance of returning to ancient Greek tradition and engaging with Eastern teachings to revive a culture closer to nature. As a result, we can reestablish roots when we are displaced and recover the vital energy we need to improve our sensibility and relation to others. This generative discussion points toward a more universal way of becoming human that is embedded in the vegetal world.

PrefaceLuce IrigarayPrologue1. Seeking Refuge in the Vegetal World2. A Culture Forgetful of Life3. Sharing Universal Breathing4. The Generative Potential of the Elements5. Living at the Rhythm of the Seasons6. A Recovery of the Amazing Diversity of Natural Presence7. Cultivating Our Sensory Perceptions8. Feeling Nostalgia for a Human Companion9. Risking to Go Back Among Humans10. Losing Oneself and Asking Nature for Help Again11. Encountering Another Human in the Woods12. Wondering How to Cultivate Our Living Energy13. Could Gestures and Words Substitute for the Elements?14. From Being Alone in Nature to Being Two in Love15. Becoming Humans16. Cultivating and Sharing Life Between AllEpilogueNotesMichael MarderPrologue1. Seeking Refuge in the Vegetal World2. A Culture Forgetful of Life3. Sharing Universal Breathing4. The Generative Potential of the Elements5. Living at the Rhythm of the Seasons6. A Recovery of the Amazing Diversity of Natural Presence7. Cultivating Our Sensory Perceptions8. Feeling Nostalgia for a Human Companion9. Risking to Go Back Among Humans10. Losing Oneself and Asking Nature for Help Again11. Encountering Another Human in the Woods12. Wondering How to Cultivate Our Living Energy13. Could Gestures and Words Substitute for the Elements?14. From Being Alone in Nature to Being Two in Love15. Becoming Humans16. Cultivating and Sharing Life Between AllEpilogueNotesIndex