We left off at the end of the last episode wondering what might make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention; this in the context of the all-too-human reality of our challenges – the tragedy of the commons, the addiction system, the psychological imperative of avoidance.
In listening back over this episode, I’m reminded of two things: one, Edmund in King Lear – “Thou, Nature, art my Goddess!” And the other, Fidel Castro: if he was to go through the revolution again, he said, he would select just twelve highly committed comrades – echoing, no doubt, the twelve disciples of Christian mythology.
In this episode we start to feel our way into our relationship with the Biosphere. In particular Ed takes a cue from Lynne White, who argued in the 1960’s that Western religion was a root cause of environmental degradation, but – controversial! – a religious way of thinking might be the way out.
Talking points:
Context: the Tragedy of the Commons, the Addiction System, Avoidance etc
- We are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there’s no escape
- But the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it?
- Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and Beliefs
- What is religion?
- Was there a good idea behind Christianity?
- Earth Mother as a mind-set
- Purpose and fly-fishing on the Danube
- Nature as a hedonistic giver
- Biophilic design
- What should we give to nature? The two way relationship
- Biomes
- Purpose and change in organisations
Links:
Article on Lynne White in Nature
Lynn White in Nature Original (pdf)
Jesus – a Buddhist Monk – YouTube/ BBC
Kindness is the opposite of stress (Dr. David R. Hamilton)
Video 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting:
Fly-fishing on the Danube (BBC)
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