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diff --git a/books/history/death-of-nature.md b/books/history/death-of-nature.md index 47f94ab..828215e 100644 --- a/books/history/death-of-nature.md +++ b/books/history/death-of-nature.md @@ -7,130 +7,118 @@ ## Excerpts - Between the sixteenth andseventeenth cerfturies the image of an or- - ganic cosmos with a living female earth at its ceriter gave way to a - mechanistic world view in which nature was reconstructed as dead and - passive, to be dominated and controlled by hufuans. The Death efNature - deals with the economic, cultural, and scientific changes through which - this vast transformation came about. In seeking to understand how people - conceptualized nature in the Scientific Revolution, I am asking not about - unchanging essences, but about connections between social change and - changing constructions of nattlre". Similarly. when women today attempt - to change society's domination of nature, 1:\1~¥.,~e acting to overturn - moder_n constructions of nature and women as culturally passive and - subordinate. - - [...] - - Today's feminist and ecological consciousness can be used to examine the - historical interconnections between women and nature that devel- - oped as the modern scientific and economic world took form in the - sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-a transformation that shaped - and pervades today's mainstream values and perceptions. - Feminist history in the broadest sense requires that we look at - - [...] - - My intent is instead to examine the - values associated with the images of women and nature as they re- - late to the formation of our modern world and their implications for - 'our lives today. - - In investigating the roots of our current environmental dilemma - and its connections to science, technology, and the economy, we - must reexamine the formation of a world view and a science that, - by reconceptualizing reality as a machine rather than a living or- - ganism, sanctioned the domination of both nature and women. The - contributions of such founding "fathers" of modern science as - Francis Bacon, William Harvey, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, - and Isaac Newton must be reevaluated. The fate of other options, - alternative philosophies, and social groups shaped by the organic - world view and resistant to the growing exploitative mentality needs - reappraisal. To understand why one road rather than the other was - taken requires a broad synthesis of both the natural and cultural - environments of Western society at the historical turning point. - This book elaborates an ecological perspective that includes both +> Between the sixteenth andseventeenth cerfturies the image of an organic +> cosmos with a living female earth at its ceriter gave way to a mechanistic +> world view in which nature was reconstructed as dead and passive, to be +> dominated and controlled by hufuans. The Death efNature deals with the +> economic, cultural, and scientific changes through which this vast +> transformation came about. In seeking to understand how people conceptualized +> nature in the Scientific Revolution, I am asking not about unchanging +> essences, but about connections between social change and changing +> constructions of nattlre". Similarly. when women today attempt to change +> society's domination of nature, 1:\1~¥.,~e acting to overturn moder_n +> constructions of nature and women as culturally passive and subordinate. +> +> [...] +> +> Today's feminist and ecological consciousness can be used to examine the +> historical interconnections between women and nature that developed as the +> modern scientific and economic world took form in the sixteenth and +> seventeenth centuries-a transformation that shaped and pervades today's +> mainstream values and perceptions. Feminist history in the broadest sense +> requires that we look at +> +> [...] +> +> My intent is instead to examine the values associated with the images of +> women and nature as they relate to the formation of our modern world and +> their implications for 'our lives today. +> +> In investigating the roots of our current environmental dilemma and its +> connections to science, technology, and the economy, we must reexamine the +> formation of a world view and a science that, by reconceptualizing reality as +> a machine rather than a living organism, sanctioned the domination of both +> nature and women. The contributions of such founding "fathers" of modern +> science as Francis Bacon, William Harvey, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, and +> Isaac Newton must be reevaluated. The fate of other options, alternative +> philosophies, and social groups shaped by the organic world view and +> resistant to the growing exploitative mentality needs reappraisal. To +> understand why one road rather than the other was taken requires a broad +> synthesis of both the natural and cultural environments of Western society at +> the historical turning point. This book elaborates an ecological perspective +> that includes both ### Terminology Nature, art, organic and mechanical: - A distinction was commonly made - between natura naturans, or nature creating, and natura naturata, - the natural creation. - - Nature was contrasted with art (techne) and with artificially cre- - ated things. It was personified as a female-being, e.g., Dame Na- - ture; she was alternately a prudent lady, an empress, a mother, etc. - The course of nature and the laws of nature were the actualization - of her force. The state of nature was the state of mankind prior to - social organization and prior to the state of grace. Nature spirits, - nature deities, virgin nymphs, and elementals were thought to re- - side in or be associated with natural objects. - - In both Western and non-Western cultures, nature was tradition- - ally feminine. - - [...] - - In the early modern period, the term organic usually referred to - the bodily organs, structures, and organization of living beings, - while organicism was the doctrine that organic structure was the - result of an inherent, adaptive property in matter. The word organi- - cal, however, was also sometimes used to refer to a machine or an - instrument. Thus a clock was sometimes called an "organical - body," while som~ machines were said to operate by organical, - rather than mechanical, action if the touch of a person was in- - volved. - - Mechanical referred to the machine and tool trades; the manual - operations of the handicrafts; inanimate machines that lacked spon- - taneity, volition, and thought; and the mechanical sciences. 1 +> A distinction was commonly made between natura naturans, or nature creating, +> and natura naturata, the natural creation. +> +> Nature was contrasted with art (techne) and with artificially created things. +> It was personified as a female-being, e.g., Dame Nature; she was alternately +> a prudent lady, an empress, a mother, etc. The course of nature and the laws +> of nature were the actualization of her force. The state of nature was the +> state of mankind prior to social organization and prior to the state of +> grace. Nature spirits, nature deities, virgin nymphs, and elementals were +> thought to reside in or be associated with natural objects. +> +> In both Western and non-Western cultures, nature was traditionally feminine. +> +> [...] +> +> In the early modern period, the term organic usually referred to the bodily +> organs, structures, and organization of living beings, while organicism was +> the doctrine that organic structure was the result of an inherent, adaptive +> property in matter. The word organical, however, was also sometimes used to +> refer to a machine or an instrument. Thus a clock was sometimes called an +> "organical body," while som~ machines were said to operate by organical, +> rather than mechanical, action if the touch of a person was involved. +> +> Mechanical referred to the machine and tool trades; the manual operations of +> the handicrafts; inanimate machines that lacked spontaneity, volition, and +> thought; and the mechanical sciences. 1 ### Nature that nurtures and thats also uncontrollable, replaced by "the machine" - NATURE AS NURTURE: CONTROLLING IMAGERY. Central to - the organic theory was the identification of nature, especially the - earth, with a nurturing mother: a kindly beneficent female who pro- - vided for the needs of mankind in an ordered, planned universe. But - another opposing image of nature as female was also prevalent: - wild and uncontrollable nature that could render violence, storms, - droughts, and general chaos. Both were identified with the female - sex and were projections of human perceptions onto the external - world. The metaphor of the earth as a nurturing mother was gradu- - ally to vanish as a dominant image as the Scientific Revolution pro- - ceeded to mechanize and to rationalize the world view. The second - image, nature as disorder, called forth an important modern idea, - that of power over nature. Two new ideas, those of mechanism and - of the domination and mastery of nature, became core concepts of - the modern world. An organically oriented mentality in which fe- - male principles played an important role was undermined and re- - placed by a mechanically oriented mentality that either eliminated - or used female principles in an exploitative manner. As Western - culture became increasingly mechanized in the 1600s, the female - earth and virgin earth spirit were subdued by the machine. 1 +> NATURE AS NURTURE: CONTROLLING IMAGERY. Central to the organic theory was the +> identification of nature, especially the earth, with a nurturing mother: a +> kindly beneficent female who provided for the needs of mankind in an ordered, +> planned universe. But another opposing image of nature as female was also +> prevalent: wild and uncontrollable nature that could render violence, storms, +> droughts, and general chaos. Both were identified with the female sex and +> were projections of human perceptions onto the external world. The metaphor +> of the earth as a nurturing mother was gradually to vanish as a dominant +> image as the Scientific Revolution pro- ceeded to mechanize and to +> rationalize the world view. The second image, nature as disorder, called +> forth an important modern idea, that of power over nature. Two new ideas, +> those of mechanism and of the domination and mastery of nature, became core +> concepts of the modern world. An organically oriented mentality in which +> female principles played an important role was undermined and replaced by a +> mechanically oriented mentality that either eliminated or used female +> principles in an exploitative manner. As Western culture became increasingly +> mechanized in the 1600s, the female earth and virgin earth spirit were +> subdued by the machine. 1 ### Mining and the female body - The image of the earth as a living organism and nurturing - mother had served as a cultural constraint restricting the actions of - human beings. One does not readily slay a mother, dig into her en- - trails for gold or mutilate her body, although commercial mining - would soon require that. As long as the earth was considered to be - alive and sensitive, it could be considered a breach of human ethical - behavior to carry out destructive acts against it. For most tradition- - al cultures, minerals and metals ripened in the uterus of the Earth - Mother, mines were compared to her vagina, and metallurgy was - the human hastening of the birth of the living metal in the artificial - womb of the furnace-an abortion of the metal's natural growth - cycle before its time. Miners offered propitiation to the deities of - the soil and subterranean world, performed ceremonial sacrifices, - · and observed strict cleanliness, sexual abstinence, and fasting be- - fore violating the sacredness of the living earth by sinking a mine. - Smiths assumed an awesome responsibility in precipitating the met- - al's birth through smeltin,.g, fusing, and beating it with hammer and - anvil; they were often accorded the status of shaman in tribal rit- - uals and their tools were thought to hold special powers. +> The image of the earth as a living organism and nurturing mother had served +> as a cultural constraint restricting the actions of human beings. One does +> not readily slay a mother, dig into her entrails for gold or mutilate her +> body, although commercial mining would soon require that. As long as the +> earth was considered to be alive and sensitive, it could be considered a +> breach of human ethical behavior to carry out destructive acts against it. +> For most traditional cultures, minerals and metals ripened in the uterus of +> the Earth Mother, mines were compared to her vagina, and metallurgy was the +> human hastening of the birth of the living metal in the artificial womb of +> the furnace-an abortion of the metal's natural growth cycle before its time. +> Miners offered propitiation to the deities of the soil and subterranean +> world, performed ceremonial sacrifices, · and observed strict cleanliness, +> sexual abstinence, and fasting before violating the sacredness of the living +> earth by sinking a mine. Smiths assumed an awesome responsibility in +> precipitating the metal's birth through smeltin,.g, fusing, and beating it +> with hammer and anvil; they were often accorded the status of shaman in +> tribal rituals and their tools were thought to hold special powers. Is there a relation between torture (basanos), extraction of "truth" and mining gold out of a mine? See discussions both on "The Counterrevolution" @@ -138,173 +126,155 @@ and "Torture and Truth". ### Hidden norms: controlling images - Controlling images operate as ethical restraints or as ethical sanc- - tions-as subtle "oughts" or "ought-nots." Thus as the descriptive - metaphors and images of nature change, a behavioral restraint can - be changed into a sanction. Such a change in the image and de'- - scription of nature was occurring during the course of the Scientific - Revolution. - - It is important to recognize the normative import of descriptive - statements about nature. Contemporary philosophers of language - have critically reassessed the earlier positivist distinction between - the "is" of science and the "ought" of society, arguing that descrip- - tions and norms are not opposed to one another by linguistic sepa- - ration into separate "is" and "ought" statements, but are contained - within each other. Descriptive statements about the world can pre- - suppose the normative; they are then ethic-laden. - - [...] - - The writer - or culture may not be conscious of the ethical import yet may act in - accordance with its dictates. The hidden norms may become con- - scious or explicit when an alternative or contradiction presents it- - self. Because language contains a culture within itself, when lan- - guage changes, a culture is also changing in important way~~ By - examining changes in descriptions of nature, we can then perceive - something of the changes in cultural values. To be aware of the in-. +> Controlling images operate as ethical restraints or as ethical sanctions-as +> subtle "oughts" or "ought-nots." Thus as the descriptive metaphors and images +> of nature change, a behavioral restraint can be changed into a sanction. Such +> a change in the image and description of nature was occurring during the +> course of the Scientific Revolution. +> +> It is important to recognize the normative import of descriptive statements +> about nature. Contemporary philosophers of language have critically +> reassessed the earlier positivist distinction between the "is" of science and +> the "ought" of society, arguing that descriptions and norms are not opposed +> to one another by linguistic sepa- ration into separate "is" and "ought" +> statements, but are contained within each other. Descriptive statements about +> the world can presuppose the normative; they are then ethic-laden. +> +> [...] +> +> The writer or culture may not be conscious of the ethical import yet may act +> in accordance with its dictates. The hidden norms may become conscious or +> explicit when an alternative or contradiction presents it- self. Because +> language contains a culture within itself, when language changes, a culture +> is also changing in important way~~ By examining changes in descriptions of +> nature, we can then perceive something of the changes in cultural values. ### Renaissance: hierarchical order - The Renaissance view of nature and society was based on the or- - ganic analogy between the human body, or microcosm, and the - larger world, or macrocosm. - - [...] - - But while the pastoral tradition symbolized nature as a benevo- - lent female, it contained the implication that nature when plowed - and cultivated could be used as a commodity and manipulated as a - resource. Nature, tamed and subdued, could be transformed into a - garden to provide both material and spiritual food to enhance the - comfort and soothe the anxieties of men distraught by the demands - of the urban world and the stresses of the marketplace. It depended - on a masculine perception of nature as a mother and bride whose - primary function was to comfort; nurture, and provide for the well- - being of the male. In pastoral imagery, both nature and women are - subordinate and essentially passive. They nurture but do not control - or exhibit disruptive passion. The pastoral mode, although it viewed - nature as benevolent, was a model created as an antidote to the - pressures of urbanization and mechanization. It represented a ful- - fillment of human needs for nurture, but by conceiving of nature as - passive, it nevertheless allowed for the possibility of its use and ma- - nipulation. Unlike the dialectical image of nature as the active uni- - ty of opposites in tension, the Arcadian image rendered nature pas- - sive and manageable. +> The Renaissance view of nature and society was based on the organic analogy +> between the human body, or microcosm, and the larger world, or macrocosm. +> +> [...] +> +> But while the pastoral tradition symbolized nature as a benevolent female, it +> contained the implication that nature when plowed and cultivated could be +> used as a commodity and manipulated as a resource. Nature, tamed and subdued, +> could be transformed into a garden to provide both material and spiritual +> food to enhance the comfort and soothe the anxieties of men distraught by the +> demands of the urban world and the stresses of the marketplace. It depended +> on a masculine perception of nature as a mother and bride whose primary +> function was to comfort; nurture, and provide for the wellbeing of the male. +> In pastoral imagery, both nature and women are subordinate and essentially +> passive. They nurture but do not control or exhibit disruptive passion. The +> pastoral mode, although it viewed nature as benevolent, was a model created +> as an antidote to the pressures of urbanization and mechanization. It +> represented a fulfillment of human needs for nurture, but by conceiving of +> nature as passive, it nevertheless allowed for the possibility of its use and +> manipulation. Unlike the dialectical image of nature as the active uni- ty of +> opposites in tension, the Arcadian image rendered nature passive and +> manageable. ### Undressing - An allegory (1160) by Alain of Lille, of the School of Chartres, - portrays Natura, God's powerful but humble servant, as stricken - with grief at the failure of man (in contrast to other species) to - obey her laws. Owing to faulty supervision by Venus, human beings - engage in adulterous sensual love. In aggressively penetrating the - secrets of heaven, they tear Natura's undergarments, exposing her - to the view of the vulgar. She complains that "by the unlawful as- - saults of man alone the garments of my modesty suffer disgrace - and division." - - [...] - - Such basic attitudes - toward ·male-female roles in biological generation where the female - and the earth are both passive receptors could easily become sanc- - tions for exploitation as the organic context was transformed by the - rise of commercial capitalism. - - [...] - - The macrocosm theory, as we have seen, likened the cosmos to - the human body, soul, and spirit with male and female reproductive - components. Similarly, the geocosm theory compared the earth to - the living human body, with breath, blood, sweat, and elimination - systems. - - [...] - - The earth's springs were akin to the human blood system; its oth- - er various fluids were likened to the mucus, saliva, sweat, and other - forins of lubrication in the human body, the earth being organized - "'. .. much after the plan of our bodies, in which there are both - veins and arteries, the former blood vessels, the latter air vessels .... - So exactly alike is the resemblance to our bodies in nature's forma- - tion of the earth, that our ancestors have spoken of veins [springs] - of water." Just as the human body contained blood, marrow, mu- - cus, saliva, tears, and lubricating fluids, so in the earth there were - various fluids. Liquids that turned hard became metals, such as - gold and silver; other fluids turned into stones, bitumens, and veins - of sulfur. Like the human body, the earth gave forth sweat: "There - is often a gathering of thin, scattered moisture like dew, which from - many points flows into one spot. The dowsers call it sweat, because - a kind of drop is either squeezed out by the pressure of the ground - or raised by the heat." - - Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) enlarged the Greek analogy be- - tween the waters of the earth and the ebb and flow of human blood - through the veins and heart - - [...] - - A widely held alchemical belief was the growth of the baser met- - als into gold in womblike matrices in the earth. The appearance of - silver in lead ores or gold in silvery assays was evidence that this - transformation was under way. Just as the child grew in the - warmth of the female womb, so the growth of metals was fostered +> An allegory (1160) by Alain of Lille, of the School of Chartres, portrays +> Natura, God's powerful but humble servant, as stricken with grief at the +> failure of man (in contrast to other species) to obey her laws. Owing to +> faulty supervision by Venus, human beings engage in adulterous sensual love. +> In aggressively penetrating the secrets of heaven, they tear Natura's +> undergarments, exposing her to the view of the vulgar. She complains that "by +> the unlawful assaults of man alone the garments of my modesty suffer disgrace +> and division." +> +> [...] +> +> Such basic attitudes toward ·male-female roles in biological generation where +> the female and the earth are both passive receptors could easily become +> sanctions for exploitation as the organic context was transformed by the rise +> of commercial capitalism. +> +> [...] +> +> The macrocosm theory, as we have seen, likened the cosmos to the human body, +> soul, and spirit with male and female reproductive components. Similarly, the +> geocosm theory compared the earth to the living human body, with breath, +> blood, sweat, and elimination systems. +> +> [...] +> +> The earth's springs were akin to the human blood system; its other various +> fluids were likened to the mucus, saliva, sweat, and other forins of +> lubrication in the human body, the earth being organized "'. .. much after +> the plan of our bodies, in which there are both veins and arteries, the +> former blood vessels, the latter air vessels .... So exactly alike is the +> resemblance to our bodies in nature's formation of the earth, that our +> ancestors have spoken of veins [springs] of water." Just as the human body +> contained blood, marrow, mucus, saliva, tears, and lubricating fluids, so in +> the earth there were various fluids. Liquids that turned hard became metals, +> such as gold and silver; other fluids turned into stones, bitumens, and veins +> of sulfur. Like the human body, the earth gave forth sweat: "There is often a +> gathering of thin, scattered moisture like dew, which from many points flows +> into one spot. The dowsers call it sweat, because a kind of drop is either +> squeezed out by the pressure of the ground or raised by the heat." +> +> Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) enlarged the Greek analogy between the waters +> of the earth and the ebb and flow of human blood through the veins and heart +> +> [...] +> +> A widely held alchemical belief was the growth of the baser metals into gold +> in womblike matrices in the earth. The appearance of silver in lead ores or +> gold in silvery assays was evidence that this transformation was under way. +> Just as the child grew in the warmth of the female womb, so the growth of +> metals was fostered ### Matrix - The earth in the Paracelsian philosophy was the mother or matrix - giving birth to plants, animals, and men. +> The earth in the Paracelsian philosophy was the mother or matrix +> giving birth to plants, animals, and men. ### Renaissance was diverse - In general, the Renaissance view was that all things were permeat- - ed by life, there being no adequate method by which to designate - the inanimate from the animate. - [...] but criteria by which to differentiate the living from - the nonliving could not successfully be formulated. This was due - not only to the vitalistic framework of the period but to striking - similarities between them. - - [...] - - Popular Renaissance literature was filled with hundreds of im- - ages associating nature, matter, and the earth with the female sex. - - [...] - - In the 1960s, the Native-American became a symbol in the ecol- - ogy movement's search for alternatives to Western exploitative atti- - tudes. The Indian animistic belief-system and reverence for the - earth as a · mother were contrasted with the Judeo-Christian heri- - tage of dominion over nature and with capitalist practices resulting - in the "tragedy of the commons" (exploitation of resources avail- - able for any person's or nation's use). But as will be seen, European - culture was more complex and varied than this judgment allows. It - ignores the Renaissance philosophy of the nurturing earth as well - as those philosophies and social movements resistant to mainstream - economic change. +> In general, the Renaissance view was that all things were permeated by life, +> there being no adequate method by which to designate the inanimate from the +> animate. [...] but criteria by which to differentiate the living from the +> nonliving could not successfully be formulated. This was due not only to the +> vitalistic framework of the period but to striking similarities between them. +> +> [...] +> +> Popular Renaissance literature was filled with hundreds of images associating +> nature, matter, and the earth with the female sex. +> +> [...] +> +> In the 1960s, the Native-American became a symbol in the ecology movement's +> search for alternatives to Western exploitative attitudes. The Indian +> animistic belief-system and reverence for the earth as a · mother were +> contrasted with the Judeo-Christian heritage of dominion over nature and with +> capitalist practices resulting in the "tragedy of the commons" (exploitation +> of resources available for any person's or nation's use). But as will be +> seen, European culture was more complex and varied than this judgment allows. +> It ignores the Renaissance philosophy of the nurturing earth as well as those +> philosophies and social movements resistant to mainstream economic change. ### Mining as revealing the hidden secrets - In his defense, the miner argued that the earth was not a real moth- - er, but a wicked stepmother who hides and conceals the metals in - her inner parts instead of making them available for human use. - - [...] - - In the old hermit's tale, we have a fascina,ting example·of the re:· - lationship between images and values. The older view of nature as a - kindly mother is challenged by the growing interests of the mining - industry in Saxony, Bohemia, and the Harz Mountains, regions of - newly found prosperity (Fig. 6). The miner, representing these - newer commercial activities, transforms the irnage of the nurturing - mother into that of a stepmother who wickedly conceals her bounty - from the deserving and needy children. In the seventeenth century, - the image will be seen to undergo yet another transformation, as - natural philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) sets forth the need - for prying into nature's nooks and crannies in searching out her se- - crets for human improvement. - - -- 33 +> In his defense, the miner argued that the earth was not a real mother, but a +> wicked stepmother who hides and conceals the metals in her inner parts +> instead of making them available for human use. +> +> [...] +> +> In the old hermit's tale, we have a fascina,ting example·of the re:· +> lationship between images and values. The older view of nature as a kindly +> mother is challenged by the growing interests of the mining industry in +> Saxony, Bohemia, and the Harz Mountains, regions of newly found prosperity +> (Fig. 6). The miner, representing these newer commercial activities, +> transforms the irnage of the nurturing mother into that of a stepmother who +> wickedly conceals her bounty from the deserving and needy children. In the +> seventeenth century, the image will be seen to undergo yet another +> transformation, as natural philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) sets forth +> the need for prying into nature's nooks and crannies in searching out her +> secrets for human improvement. +> +> -- 33 |