Quinn and Bodian/Naess GNED 102 Dr. Fike Daniel Quinn • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn – He is a freelance writer. – He is very concerned with environmental issues, including.
Download ReportTranscript Quinn and Bodian/Naess GNED 102 Dr. Fike Daniel Quinn • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn – He is a freelance writer. – He is very concerned with environmental issues, including.
Slide 1
Quinn and Bodian/Naess
GNED 102
Dr. Fike
Slide 2
Daniel Quinn
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn
– He is a freelance writer.
– He is very concerned with environmental
issues, including overpopulation and the
extinction of 200 species per day.
Slide 3
The Big Bang
• In physical cosmology, the Big Bang is the
scientific theory that the universe emerged from
a tremendously dense and hot state about 13.7
billion years ago. The theory is based on the
observations indicating the expansion of space
in accord with the Robertson-Walker model of
general relativity, as indicated by the Hubble
redshift of distant galaxies taken together with
the cosmological principle.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
Slide 4
The Steady State Theory
• “The steady state theory asserts that although
the universe is expanding, it nevertheless does
not change its look over time (the perfect
cosmological principle); it has no beginning and
no end.
• “The steady state theory requires that new
matter must be continuously created (mostly as
hydrogen) to keep the average density of matter
equal over time.”
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steady_state_theory
Slide 5
Write in Your Notebooks
• Complete the following homology:
The gorilla Ishmael is to _________ as the
human is to _________.
• What answers did you come up with?
Slide 6
Questions about Quinn’s Text
• What points is Ishmael making about
myth in connection with evolution and
creationism?
• What is his definition of myth?
• He is using myth to make a point about
human beings' relationship to the natural
environment. What is that point?
• Write your definition and your answer in
your notebook.
(See Q on next slide.)
Slide 7
A Valid Reader Response?
• "Oh, so Quinn is saying that evolution is a
myth. Therefore, he is saying that evolution
didn't really happen."
• Evaluate this statement. Do you agree or
disagree with it? How do you know that you are
right?
Note: We are NOT going to debate evolution vs. creationism or intelligent
design in this class. Believe whatever you want. I am simply asking you to
understand Quinn's take on these issues.
Slide 8
“Mother Culture”
• Quinn makes a powerful point when he
has Ishmael mention the problem of
“listening to Mother Culture” and that
“Mother Culture has crooned you to sleep”
(202, left column).
• As regards the environment, what exactly
does it mean to listen to the voice of
culture? In what ways do you listen to
your cultural Mother?
Slide 9
Definitions?
• What does Ishmael mean by "the Takers"
the "the Leavers“ (204-05)?
• To whom is he referring in each case?
• What point do you think that Ishmael is
trying to teach his human interlocutor?
• Do you think that the gorilla is right to take
this position?
Slide 10
Ishmael’s Name
• What is the significance of the fact that the
gorilla's name is Ishmael?
Slide 11
Answers
• Ishmael is the son of Abraham by Sarah’s
maidservant, Hagar.
• “The word Yishm'e'l existed in various
ancient Semitic cultures. It literally
meaning ‘God has hearkened’ [or ‘God will
hear’], suggesting that ‘a child so named
was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine
promise’” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael).
Slide 12
More on Ishmael
• Genesis 21:8-10 (RSV): “And the child grew, and was
weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day
that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing
with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out
this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave
woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.’”
• Genesis 21:20: “And God was with the lad, and he grew
up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert
with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and
his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.”
Slide 13
Arne Naess
• Top Norwegian philosopher of the 20th
century.
• Næss cited Rachel Carson's 1962 book
Silent Spring as being a key influence in
his vision of deep ecology.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_N%C3%
A6ss
Slide 14
Naess’s Thesis?
• If you were asked to identify one sentence
as Naess's thesis, which one would you
select? Which sentence best
encapsulates his main point?
Slide 15
Bodian/Naess: Terminology
• Group work for 10 minutes: Get with 3-4 others and find
(or construct) definitions of the following terms. Also, try
to put them together into a summary of what Naess
advocates.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Deep ecology (208-09)
Shallow ecology (209)
Shallow ecology:________::deep ecology:________.
Conservation (209)
Ecosophy (208)
Paradigm shift (208)
Self-realization (209)
The Self vs. the ego (209-10)
Tao (209)
Slide 16
Deep Ecology
• Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological philosophy
(ecosophy) that considers humankind as an integral part of its
environment. It places more value on other species, ecosystems
and processes in nature than is allowed by established
environmental and green movements, and therefore leads to a new
system of environmental ethics. The core principle of deep ecology
as originally developed is Naess's doctrine of biospheric
egalitarianism — the claim that all living things have the same
right to live and flourish — a principle which, after criticism, has
been substantially qualified (see Naess 1989). Deep ecology
describes itself as "deep" because it is concerned with
fundamental philosophical questions about the role of human
life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of
ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely
utilitarian environmentalism.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology
Slide 17
Tao
• “Tao” is a Chinese character “often translated as
‘Way’ or ‘Path.’ In ancient China Tao gained a
special currency referring to the Way of Nature
or Heaven. This Great Way was considered the
source of the order that could be seen in Nature
and the Cosmos. The concept of the Tao and its
relationship to yin and yang heavily influenced
Chinese philosophy and continues to this day.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao
Slide 18
Large-group Discussion on
Consumerism
• Do you agree that "instead of an energy crisis,
we have a crisis of consumption“ (208)?
• What point does Naess make about Rachel
Carson (210)? You should look back and see
what Swimme says about her on page 113.
• If Naess and Swimme and Marx were having a
conversation, what opinions would they share or
not share?
• What values do you believe should govern your
individual life and the life of American society?
Slide 19
Clouds Talk?
• How do clouds talk to us (207)? Does this
strike you as a dumb thing for Naess to
say? Is it a metaphor? Do you
understand it in some other way?
Slide 20
Alternatives
• Are we limited only to the two options that
Naess mentions on page 209: "A 'smooth'
way, involving harmonious living with
nature, or a 'rough' way, involving a
dictatorship and coercion"?
Slide 21
Final Question
• Answer this question on page 208: "'In
what situations do I experience the
maximum satisfaction of my whole
being?'"
• Write your answer in your notebook.
END
Quinn and Bodian/Naess
GNED 102
Dr. Fike
Slide 2
Daniel Quinn
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn
– He is a freelance writer.
– He is very concerned with environmental
issues, including overpopulation and the
extinction of 200 species per day.
Slide 3
The Big Bang
• In physical cosmology, the Big Bang is the
scientific theory that the universe emerged from
a tremendously dense and hot state about 13.7
billion years ago. The theory is based on the
observations indicating the expansion of space
in accord with the Robertson-Walker model of
general relativity, as indicated by the Hubble
redshift of distant galaxies taken together with
the cosmological principle.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
Slide 4
The Steady State Theory
• “The steady state theory asserts that although
the universe is expanding, it nevertheless does
not change its look over time (the perfect
cosmological principle); it has no beginning and
no end.
• “The steady state theory requires that new
matter must be continuously created (mostly as
hydrogen) to keep the average density of matter
equal over time.”
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steady_state_theory
Slide 5
Write in Your Notebooks
• Complete the following homology:
The gorilla Ishmael is to _________ as the
human is to _________.
• What answers did you come up with?
Slide 6
Questions about Quinn’s Text
• What points is Ishmael making about
myth in connection with evolution and
creationism?
• What is his definition of myth?
• He is using myth to make a point about
human beings' relationship to the natural
environment. What is that point?
• Write your definition and your answer in
your notebook.
(See Q on next slide.)
Slide 7
A Valid Reader Response?
• "Oh, so Quinn is saying that evolution is a
myth. Therefore, he is saying that evolution
didn't really happen."
• Evaluate this statement. Do you agree or
disagree with it? How do you know that you are
right?
Note: We are NOT going to debate evolution vs. creationism or intelligent
design in this class. Believe whatever you want. I am simply asking you to
understand Quinn's take on these issues.
Slide 8
“Mother Culture”
• Quinn makes a powerful point when he
has Ishmael mention the problem of
“listening to Mother Culture” and that
“Mother Culture has crooned you to sleep”
(202, left column).
• As regards the environment, what exactly
does it mean to listen to the voice of
culture? In what ways do you listen to
your cultural Mother?
Slide 9
Definitions?
• What does Ishmael mean by "the Takers"
the "the Leavers“ (204-05)?
• To whom is he referring in each case?
• What point do you think that Ishmael is
trying to teach his human interlocutor?
• Do you think that the gorilla is right to take
this position?
Slide 10
Ishmael’s Name
• What is the significance of the fact that the
gorilla's name is Ishmael?
Slide 11
Answers
• Ishmael is the son of Abraham by Sarah’s
maidservant, Hagar.
• “The word Yishm'e'l existed in various
ancient Semitic cultures. It literally
meaning ‘God has hearkened’ [or ‘God will
hear’], suggesting that ‘a child so named
was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine
promise’” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael).
Slide 12
More on Ishmael
• Genesis 21:8-10 (RSV): “And the child grew, and was
weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day
that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing
with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out
this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave
woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.’”
• Genesis 21:20: “And God was with the lad, and he grew
up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert
with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and
his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.”
Slide 13
Arne Naess
• Top Norwegian philosopher of the 20th
century.
• Næss cited Rachel Carson's 1962 book
Silent Spring as being a key influence in
his vision of deep ecology.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_N%C3%
A6ss
Slide 14
Naess’s Thesis?
• If you were asked to identify one sentence
as Naess's thesis, which one would you
select? Which sentence best
encapsulates his main point?
Slide 15
Bodian/Naess: Terminology
• Group work for 10 minutes: Get with 3-4 others and find
(or construct) definitions of the following terms. Also, try
to put them together into a summary of what Naess
advocates.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Deep ecology (208-09)
Shallow ecology (209)
Shallow ecology:________::deep ecology:________.
Conservation (209)
Ecosophy (208)
Paradigm shift (208)
Self-realization (209)
The Self vs. the ego (209-10)
Tao (209)
Slide 16
Deep Ecology
• Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological philosophy
(ecosophy) that considers humankind as an integral part of its
environment. It places more value on other species, ecosystems
and processes in nature than is allowed by established
environmental and green movements, and therefore leads to a new
system of environmental ethics. The core principle of deep ecology
as originally developed is Naess's doctrine of biospheric
egalitarianism — the claim that all living things have the same
right to live and flourish — a principle which, after criticism, has
been substantially qualified (see Naess 1989). Deep ecology
describes itself as "deep" because it is concerned with
fundamental philosophical questions about the role of human
life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of
ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely
utilitarian environmentalism.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology
Slide 17
Tao
• “Tao” is a Chinese character “often translated as
‘Way’ or ‘Path.’ In ancient China Tao gained a
special currency referring to the Way of Nature
or Heaven. This Great Way was considered the
source of the order that could be seen in Nature
and the Cosmos. The concept of the Tao and its
relationship to yin and yang heavily influenced
Chinese philosophy and continues to this day.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao
Slide 18
Large-group Discussion on
Consumerism
• Do you agree that "instead of an energy crisis,
we have a crisis of consumption“ (208)?
• What point does Naess make about Rachel
Carson (210)? You should look back and see
what Swimme says about her on page 113.
• If Naess and Swimme and Marx were having a
conversation, what opinions would they share or
not share?
• What values do you believe should govern your
individual life and the life of American society?
Slide 19
Clouds Talk?
• How do clouds talk to us (207)? Does this
strike you as a dumb thing for Naess to
say? Is it a metaphor? Do you
understand it in some other way?
Slide 20
Alternatives
• Are we limited only to the two options that
Naess mentions on page 209: "A 'smooth'
way, involving harmonious living with
nature, or a 'rough' way, involving a
dictatorship and coercion"?
Slide 21
Final Question
• Answer this question on page 208: "'In
what situations do I experience the
maximum satisfaction of my whole
being?'"
• Write your answer in your notebook.
END