Rethinking the Relations of Nature, Culture and Agency (original) (raw)
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Philosophy of nature and culture and its role in shaping Humankind’s attitude to nature
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What is the relation between nature and culture? How does the political grammar of these terms inform the concerns of feminist theory -namely sexual difference, gender oppression and its connections with racism, heteronormativity, coloniality and other marginalizations? And how might the nature/culture relation be relevant for feminist knowledge projects? Sherry Ortner's essay 'Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?' (1974) benchmarks a lively and ongoing debate within anthropological scholarship about the limits of an affirmative answer to her question (for example, MacCormack and Strathern, 1980; Moore, 1994; Franklin, 2003). Beyond serving as a touchstone for feminist anthropology, the nature/culture debate has also proliferated throughout many strands and schools of feminist thought, arguably constituting a foundational question for feminism more generally.
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The term nature, in a broad sense, refers to the phenomena of the physical world and life in general. Complex are their definitions, involving qualities of essentiality, origin, spontaneity, and everything that was not directly manipulated or produced by human action, including the universe itself. Taking into account that the sciences in their entirety have developed through their observation, the objective of this study is to promote the worldview of nature as a foundation for human self-knowledge, since according to the conception of human ecology, humans are conceived as an indivisible part of their environment. Faced with the current ecological constraints, the proposal is justified, above all, by the need to reconnect man with nature in a superficial and deep sense. For that, we used the theoretical revision method (especially conceptual contributions of Arne Naess and Carl Gustav Jung) and Aristotelian deductive thinking to reach the proposed reflections. The results suggest man as being indivisible from nature, reigned by forces, tendencies, instincts, and cycles similar to those of the natural environment. From natural contemplation it is believed possible to formulate deep understandings of human nature, be they biological, psychological or spiritual.
In this introduction to a Special Section, we outline three recent interrelated research tendencies with regard to how to understand the practices and politics of 'nature': 1) a major attention towards non-anthropocentric environmental ideologies; 2) more complex analyses of environmental movements; and finally, 3) attention to unconventional every-day practices of environmental justice. In all three tendencies, we argue, a renewed attention to socio-economic power relations of the wider context becomes crucial for a better understanding of environmental dynamics. Ethnographically engaged studies from the European context offer examples of how it becomes possible to assess the impact of new grass-root practices, to pay attention to good micro-practices, and understand the unexpected outcomes of the engagement with nature. Dans cette introduction trois tendances de la recherche en référence aux pratiques et politiques de la «nature» sont mis en évidence: 1) une plus grande attention à des idéologies non-anthropocentriques 2) une analyse plus complexe des mouvements environnementaux 3) l'attention aux pratiques quotidiennes non- conventionnelles pour la justice environnementale. Il est souligné que l'émergence d'une écologie politique qui accorde une attention croissante aux relations de pouvoir socio-économique dans un contexte large permets une meilleure compréhension de la dynamique de l'environnement dans les trois tendances de recherche. des études ethnographiquement engagé de contexte européen offre des exemples de la façon dont il est possible d'évaluer l'impact de nouvelles pratiques des études ethnographiques engagés de l'offre des exemples de contexte européen de la façon dont il est possible d'évaluer l'impact de nouvelles pratiques de base, de prêter attention aux bonnes micro-pratiques et comprendre les résultats inattendus de l'engagement avec la nature. In questa introduzione vengono evidenziate tre recenti tendenze di ricerca in riferimento alle pratiche e alle politiche della "natura": 1) una maggiore attenzione nei riguardi delle ideologie non antropocentriche 2) analisi più complesse dei movimenti ambientalisti, e infine 3) attenzione a pratiche quotidiane non convenzionali di giustizia ambientale. Viene sottolineato come per una migliore comprensione delle dinamiche ambientali diventi cruciale in tutte le tre tendenze, l’affermarsi di una ecologia politica che presti attenzione alle relazioni di potere socioeconomico in un più ampio contesto. Studi etnografici europei offrono esempi concreti come diventa possibile di comprendere l’impatto delle nuove pratiche dal basso, incentivare delle pratiche buone e analizzare le conseguenze spesso imprevedibili dei tentativi di proteggere l’ambiente.
Beyond the Nature-Culture Dualism
It is commonly accepted that the western view of humanity's place in nature is dominated by a dualistic opposition between nature and culture. Historically this has arisen from externalization of nature in both productive and cognitive practices; instances of such externalization have become generalized. I think the dualism can be decomposed by identifying dominant elements in each particular instantiation and showing that their strict separation evaporates under close scrutiny. The philosophical challenge this perspective presents is to substitute concrete socioecological analysis for foundational metaphysics. A review of major interpretations of the history of the dualism in Western thought indicates that the legacy is more multistranded than is usually admitted. Modern science is often assumed to lie squarely within the dualism, but this is unfounded. In contrast, science provides tools for contextual analysis on how human activities and natural processes merge. The dualism thus evaporates in actual research practice. Nevertheless, the foundational metaphysics needs to be challenged, primarily because of its paralyzing effect on environmental philosophy.
On the Duality of Culture and Nature
Philosophica, 1995
Much of the Western tradition can be understood in tenns of increasing self-consciousness about the difference between culture and nature. The problems that anthropology has recently discovered about culture parallel what Buddhism claims about the problem of the individual self. We alternate between the promise of technological progress (freedom through self-grounding) and yearning for a return to nature (security through regrounding). Since both are impossible for us, the conclusion considers whether there is any third alternative.