This book is quite dense, the density was definitely a challenge to remain focused through, I even put off writing my notes until now. At least Jim Morrison is keeping me awake; his thoughts on nature can be heard in his poetic lyrics during “When the Music’s Over.” Jim describes how humans have degraded our planet, the capitalist consumers placing profit on all natural resources (wanting the world NOW), humanity needing help (maybe by a religious force) connecting with nature again, and suggests that we can save energy by turning out the lights when we are done partying, when the music’s over; however, we probably should not be partying as hard as he did when he was alive.
What have they done to the earth?
What have they done to our fair sister?
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn
And tied her with fences and dragged her down
I hear a very gentle sound
With your ear down to the ground
We want the world and we want it…
We want the world and we want it…
Now
Now?
Now!
Persian night, babe
See the light, babe
Save us!
Jesus!
Save us!
So when the music’s over
When the music’s over, yeah
When the music’s over
Turn out the lights
Turn out the lights
Turn out the lights
Topics of rich discussion about the second part of the Nature:
- The Middle Ages: Chenu describes the world soul, man as a microcosm and the universe as a macrocosm. Christianity deeply inscribed into the Middle Age mind.
- 4,000-6,000 years ago fire was used widely as a hunting mechanism; as a result during the middle of the Bronze Age, 1/2 of England was no longer “wildwood”
- Most clearance of land was done by Cisterian monks from France who arrived and spread from Scotland to Hungary
- Population/climate parallels: Few degress warmer from 1086-1300, caused the population to grow from 1.5 million to 4 million. Then it was cooler and wetter which increased cattle disease and led to poor harvest; one of those diseases was the bubonic plague which killed 25-40% of England’s population, and 20 million across Europe.
- Landscapes of power
- Animal Court Trials (strange)
- St. Francis was an exception to the arrogant anthropocentrism of dominant christian religion e.g. he called animals “brother” and “sister.” Other exceptions were monks, hermits, and Franciscans.
- New Technology developed during the Midieval Ages, most importantly the plough share that required 8 oxen to pull and exploiting the land became easier. As a result, “ecological triumphalism” arose where people had the impression that “we shape the world according to our needs”–much the same as it is today. Huge environmental impact occurred during cathedral construction in the 12th-13th centuries.
- The Advent of Modernity: Metaphor of the petroleum station as how humanity has reduced nature to a resource to fuel its bottomless tank. How did we get to this??
- 17th Century Scientific Revolution: capitalist modes of production
- 18th Century Enlightenment Project: locomotive of modernity with its emphasis of man as master of his own destiny and the supreme explanatory power of reason. ”What is nature?” because inseparable from “What can we do to nature?”
- The World Beyond Europe: the beatniks (basic revolutionaries of our time).
- Zen Buddhism: oneness of all life. *stresses low consumption levels*
- Where are we headed?
