21–30 of 71 posts
That’s exactly why having a lot of species is important. But it’s hardly balanced.
We are nature. The separation between humanity and nature is a false one, that works against conservation efforts. I like the idea of rewilding because it forces us to see ourselves as part of a large natural system - which is what we are - and helps grow appreciation for that system. But until there is a way for recognition of that system to become more profitable than "othering" nature - polluting the environment,…
There's a word for it: anthropocentrism. Also a common fallacy/myth: the noble savage.
-- Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age.
Kind of interesting timing given the mysterious sea fence that appeared recently [1].
Does that mean there's still some sort of hope...?
[1] https://en.tempo.co/read/1963072/after-much-protest-pantura-...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem lies in the idea that humans can own land. Hah. We're so dumb. We cannot "own" land.
Of course we can. You're perhaps thinking of ownership as being something more than a social construction, but that's all it is. "Own" just means that we agree with other people that we have certain rights over some property - land, or whatever. That ownership is enforced to varying degrees by society. That's it.
We are nature. The separation between humanity and nature is a false one, that works against conservation efforts. I like the idea of rewilding because it forces us to see ourselves as part of a large natural system - which is what we are - and helps grow appreciation for that system. But until there is a way for recognition of that system to become more profitable than "othering" nature - polluting the environment,…
This is a take on environmental communication I’ve heard more and more of recently. Out of curiosity, do you know of other literature or people trying to reframe the human/nature relationship?
https://faculty.washington.edu/timbillo/Readings%20and%20doc...
"walking barefoot in the grass, planting native species in our backyards, or simply pausing to observe the life teeming around us" - from the fine article Ok, I'll get right on it.
It's hard to read any fraction of this article without wanting to take a walk away from the computer.
My problem with the term “ecological balance” is that it doesn’t exist. It’s a mythical term that seems invented by Disney. Nature is brutal. Populations will get wiped out, species will disappear. That’s exactly why having a lot of species is important. But it’s hardly balanced.
What people are concerned about is that we, as humans, are the thing that is disturbing the balance at the moment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course we can. You're perhaps thinking of ownership as being something more than a social construction, but that's all it is. "Own" just means that we agree with other people that we have certain rights over some property - land, or whatever. That ownership is enforced to varying degrees by society. That's it.
Yep. The same fallacy would get you “we can’t own a candy bar because its component atoms originated in distant stars billions of years ago and will outlive our solar system”. Sorry, no, that’s my Kit Kat.
We are nature. The separation between humanity and nature is a false one, that works against conservation efforts. I like the idea of rewilding because it forces us to see ourselves as part of a large natural system - which is what we are - and helps grow appreciation for that system. But until there is a way for recognition of that system to become more profitable than "othering" nature - polluting the environment,…
This is a take on environmental communication I’ve heard more and more of recently. Out of curiosity, do you know of other literature or people trying to reframe the human/nature relationship?
We are nature. The separation between humanity and nature is a false one, that works against conservation efforts. I like the idea of rewilding because it forces us to see ourselves as part of a large natural system - which is what we are - and helps grow appreciation for that system. But until there is a way for recognition of that system to become more profitable than "othering" nature - polluting the environment,…
This is a take on environmental communication I’ve heard more and more of recently. Out of curiosity, do you know of other literature or people trying to reframe the human/nature relationship?
This was also a central theme in a lot of the late John Moriarty's work (although approached more obliquely and holistically than Abram imo). That mantle has been picked up by Martin Shaw. Both discuss how we, as a species, have domesticated ourselves out of our natural and profound connection to the very ground of our being. See also philosopher and neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist's The Master and his Emmisary.
"walking barefoot in the grass, planting native species in our backyards, or simply pausing to observe the life teeming around us" - from the fine article Ok, I'll get right on it.
I don't get the downvotes. It's hard to read any fraction of this article without wanting to take a walk away from the computer.