ABSTRACT
As with literary, poetic, and artistic modes of thinking, philosophy has been shaped by the places it inhabits and in which it developed. The places of the West are physical destinations that people flock to every year; but they are also destinations of the mind for many Americans, and not a few foreign nationals, including many who have never visited, and may never actually visit, the West. These places have become a central part of American culture, often thanks to Hollywood, which is both a Western place and perhaps the most influential propagandist of its special character. Continental philosophy—one of the two major traditions of western philosophy in north America—is a contested term; and that contestation often takes the form of debates about what should count as “philosophy.” Bioregionalism is a distinctive branch of environmentalism inspired by the “back to the land” philosophy of the North America countercultural movement.
