"But there are few terms more equivocal, more ambiguous, have more multiple meanings, than the term 'nature'."
[source: Alan Kor, The Birth of the Modern Mind]
God I just want this on like, a flashcard, so I can carry it around wherever I go and just wave it at relevant conversations.
rambly, pol-abstract, nature, environmentalism, western spirituality
Like, we have the 17th century version of 'Nature as Mechanical' still embedded in our education system, and it becomes part of the secular spirituality of western thought even today
Like, we hold few things as sacrosanct and divine as preservation of the distinction between the Natural and the Human
Aligning your lifestyle with Natural Behaviours that will lead to wellbeing through a mechanistic, step-by-step process
Natural Remedies, All-Natural Ingredients
These are all Spiritual stances. (Spiritual does not equate to bad or wrong, but it is something we should accept, culturally)
By what criteria do we distinguish the natural behaviour of the Orangutan or Crow crafting a tool, and a Human crafting a tool? Which behaviour is natural?
If an animal made it, how is it unnatural?
The idea of ecosystems as clockwork mechanisms of perpetual stasis has become our primary argument against human destruction, despite all scientific proof pointing towards a far more nuanced model of constant change and adaptation.
If biomes were harmonious clockwork phenomena before humans came along, the anti-evolution movement would be entirely correct.
re: rambly, pol-abstract, nature, environmentalism, western spirituality
Like, I studied this stuff for my dissertation in uni: There's a *lot* of nature & animal-roles tied into our cultural & spiritual lexicon, our sense of self, and our relation with the divine.
Nature & Humanity as dual entities or a merged whole is a running debate in Western religion, philosophy and science going back *literally millenia*.
The relation between humans & other animals is complex, nuanced and fascinating in any culture; How we percieve other animals, how we weave them into our spirituality, our religion, our folklore, our culture and even our language itself, is an entire field of study rich with potential.
re: rambly, pol-abstract, western spirituality- [CW: Meta (anti-kin bs)]
This, among other things, is why
I'm F'n Laff
..At the idea that Western Spirituality had absolutely no connection to anything animalistic -> started appropriating it from other cultures -> kin happened.
Like, the people who say that? Get lernt, read a book and shut the hell up, you utter earspoons.
