ONLINE FIRST
published on September 26, 2024
Benjamin Norris

https://doi.org/10.5840/idstudies2024925171
Necro-Ecology in G¨¹nderrode¡¯s ¡°The Idea of the Earth¡±
Life, Death, and Naturphilosophie beyond Schelling
In addition to foregrounding the intimate interconnectedness between the human and the non-human world necro-ecology also undermines the absolute separation between life and death. The purpose of this paper is to deploy these central tenets of necro-ecology to provide a reading of Karoline von G¨¹nderrode¡¯s 1805 ¡°The Idea of the Earth.¡± After discussing a shift that takes place in Schelling¡¯s theory of the relationship between nature, life, and death (Section 1) I turn to the role of corporeal decomposition in relation to the earth as spelled out by G¨¹nderrode in ¡°The Idea of the Earth¡± (Section 2). Though ¡°The Idea of the Earth¡± operates within a naturphilosophical framework, it does so in a way distinct from Schelling¡¯s theologically inflected middle work and in a way that is of relevance to the philosophical history and promise of necro-ecology.