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GEOG 1: “NATURE, SOCIETY & TECHNOLOGY”

CULTURE-NATURE (Sarah Whatmore)

• The assumption that everything we encounter in the world already belongs either to ‘culture’ or to ‘nature’ has become entrenched in the division between ‘human’ and ‘physical’ geography and reinforced by the faltering conversation between them

• Culture-nature binary

• The geographical tradition of exploration and expedition played an important role in extending and mapping these networks and has left us with a thoroughly modern sense of nature as the world that lies beyond their reach (livingstone, 1992)

• From European vantage point, nature comes to be associated from where ‘we’ are – jungles and wilderness. But by the end of the 20

th century, we

seem to be everywhere Social Construction of Nature

• Marxist Tradition: concerned with the material transformation of nature as it is put to a variety of human uses under different conditions of production

• Cultural geography: focused on the idea of nature, what it means to different societies and how they go about representing it in words and images

Producing Nature

• Mid-19th century, karl marx, observed ways in which

plants and animals were physically being transformed by farmers using careful selection and breeding methods to commercially more valuable crops and livestock

• Rise of industrial capitalism – the things we are accustomed to think of as natural were increasingly being refashioned as the products of human labor

• 3 importance of the production of nature (Noel Castree, 1995) o To acknowledge that nature is produced

undermines the familiar but misleading idea that it is something fixed and unchanging. We are forced to see how society has utilized it in different times and places

o It captures the double-edged sense in which the process of producing goods for human use and exchange simultaneously transforms the physical fabric of the physical world and people’s relationship to it

o It alerts us to the way in which capitalist production seems to stop at nothing in its quest for profitability, turning landscapes, water bodies and molecular structure into some marketable commodities

• Neil smith, Uneven Development

• Capitalism for the first time in history puts human society in the driving seat, replacing God as the creative force fashioning the natural world

• Social capacity to produce nature is the second nature according to smith to distinguish it from its ‘god-given’ or ‘original state’ which is called the first

nature. Post modern social forms accompanied by a third nature of computer stimulated and televisual landscapes and creatures

• Transition from 1st, 2

nd and 3

rd nature has significant

geographical dimensions (illustration of the potatoes)

SUMMARY

• Nature is socially constructed in the sense that it is transformed through the labor process and fashioned by the technologies and values of human production

• From this perspective, nature-society relations are seen to have changed progressively over time from first (original) nature, to second nature (industrial) to today’s third (virtual) nature.

Representing Nature

• The natural world is understood to be shaped as powerfully by the human imagination as by any physical manipulation. This is because ‘nature’ does not come with handy labels naming its part or making sense of itself – which is the attribute of culture

• Importance is that it focuses us to recognize that our relationship with those aspects of the world we call nature is unavoidably filtered through the categories, technologies, and conventions of human representation in particular times and places

• For cultural geographers, nature itself is first and foremost a category of the human imagination and therefore best treated as part of culture

• At whatever form, these ways of seeing the natural world share 3 common principles: o Representation of nature is not a neutral process

that simply produces a mirror image of a fixed external reality – rather, it is instrumental in constituting our sense of what the natural world is like

o 2nd

principle of landscape is not to take representations of the natural world at face value, however much they seem or claim to be true to life

o 3rd

principle is that there are many incompatible ways of seeing the same natural phenomenon, event or environment

SUMMARY

• Nature is socially constructed in the sense that it is shaped as powerfully by the human imagination as by any physical manipulation. Our relationships with nature are unavoidably filtered through the categories and conventions of human representation

• From this perspective, the landscapes of nature are understood as “ways of seeing” the world in which the real and the imagined are intricately woven

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GEOG 1: “NATURE, SOCIETY & TECHNOLOGY”

ENLIVENING GEOGRAPHICAL LANDSCAPE Three of the most important currents in the rethinking of human in human geography: 1. Concerned with showing that the idea of nature as

pristine space outside society is an historical fallacy 2. 2

nd current extends this historical repudiation of the

separation of human society and natural world by paying close attention to the mixed-up mobile lives of people, plants, and animals in our everyday life

3. 3rd

current works against the grain of the nature-culture binary is trying to come to terms with the ways in which the seemingly hard and fast categories of human, animal, and machine are being blurred.

NATURE – refers to the entire bio-physical environment on earth. Also known as the environment, ecosystem, ecology, mother nature. Truth on Man’s Perception of Nature

• How man interacts with the environment is largely based on his perception of nature.

• Perceptions of nature are based on stories, ideas & images that society feeds him. These perceptions are shared from one generation to another.

• Different societies have different perceptions of nature, therefore different persons has different perceptions of nature.

• Recognizing different perceptions can help to understand why different people & different societies interact with the environment in different ways.

Perceptions of Nature

• Everyone has his own image or stories about himself, society or the environment. This make up one’s worldview

• Perceptions shape the interpretation of information when it enters a social system from an ecosystem & perceptions shape the decision-making processes that leads to affecting the ecosystem.

• Different people have different perceptions of how the environment works due to culture.

Different perceptions of Nature: a. Nature perceptions by different religions b. Nature perceptions by different societies c. Common Perceptions of nature d. Environmental Philosophies & Political Views on nature A. Religious Attitudes Toward Nature Religion: offers moral codes- guidelines about right and wrong and rules of behavior- that are particularly effective because they are reinforced by emotionally compelling beliefs, symbols and rituals.

1. Spirit Religion (Animism) = Nature over Man

• Spirits are invisible forces who exert power over weather, illness, & other natural phenomena significant to man.

• Before the development of modern science, people explained nature through the presence of spirits.

• They believe that spirits live in the bodies of plants, animals, rocks, hills, mountains or lakes. Any place a spirit dwells is sacred and worthy of great awe and respect.

• Spirits are the Lords who have the power to help people, but if displeased, they can also harm them. For believers, it is to respect spirits & keep them happy.

2. Eastern Religion = Nature is equal with Man

• Hinduism- The universe is a cosmic person with consciousness; every part of the universe has consciousness, everything is connected. Deities, Karma, Dharma, Reincarnation.

• Buddhism – People and nature are one. Negative thoughts lead to negative actions and negative consequences. Implies that the use of natural resources should be limited to satisfying basic needs such as food and clothing. Animals should not be killed and plants should be harvested only to meet essential food needs. Views that nothing exists in and of itself and everything is part of a natural complex and dynamic totality of mutuality and interdependence.

• Taoism – Nature is mysterious beyond comprehension. People do best by changing nature as little as possible, fitting with nature’s rhythms and flows and tapping into nature’s energy instead of trying to dominate or control it.

• Confucianism – emphasizes social relationship – the need for people to develop and refine their mutual responsibilities. Humans are children of nature, the proper attitude for nature is filial piety (respect for elders)

3. Western Religion = Man over Nature

• Judaism – God chose humans as representatives to maintain God’s wisdom on earth while using and managing the earth to meet their needs. The earth is sacred but their idea of managing the earth for God was not to leave everything completely natural.

• Christianity – Similar to Judaism. Monotheistic belief that holds that only man has soul. Man is the steward of nature.

• Islam – Heaven and earth were created to serve human purposes – that humans are sovereign over the rest of the creation but authority over nature is not an absolute right but as a test of loyalty, obedience and gratitude to Allah. People should not use more than they need and they should not be wasteful of what they use.

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GEOG 1: “NATURE, SOCIETY & TECHNOLOGY”

B. Attitudes of Different Societies Toward Nature 1. Hunting & Gathering (Foraging)

• A technique in extracting livelihood from the environment by almost exclusive reliance on muscular energy (gathering food, hunting with bows & spears, etc.)

• They are nomadic and usually live in small bands of families.

• Requires wide knowledge on the environment, e.g. seasonality, plant types, migration patterns of animals etc.

2. Pastoralism (Grazing)

• Based on domestication of herds of animals, assures society with steady food supply. Societies can grow much larger because of surplus of livestock & food.

• Also nomadic because they must constantly take their herds to new grazing grounds.

• They also believe in god or many gods who take an active role in human affairs. Pastoral society’s are said to be the roots of toady’s major religions.

3. Horticulture

• They tend, sow & harvest edible vegetation. They are relatively settled because they still have to move their gardens at a short distance.

• Their subsistence is based on the slash-and-burn technology

• Although they are highly spiritual, some of the grimmest human actions came form these societies (warfare, cannibalism, sacrifice, theft)

• Bigger Population permits complex social structure & culture.

4. Agriculture

• The invention of the plow paved the way for the agricultural revolution. The plow greatly improved the productivity of the land. The same land can be cultivated continuously & fully permanent settlements are possible.

• Population size are greater than pastoral & horticulture societies. Cities appear for the 1st time.

• Culture, social organizations & political institutions

• become more elaborate. Agriculture societies are

• constantly at war engaging in a systematic empire building, military organizations are therefore needed.

5. Industrialization

• Based on the application of scientific knowledge to production, permitting machines to do the work previously done by man and animals

• Very large population, highly urbanized, rapidly changing economic, social & political systems.

• Kinship ties are weakened, family becomes less important. Religion loses hold as the source of moral authority.

• Science emerges as the new & important institution.

• Lead to all-out extraction of other areas for natural resources to keep up with the accelerating population growth.

C. Common Perceptions of Nature: 1. Everything in nature is connected:

• many events are, directly or indirectly, a consequence of human actions.

• people should therefore treat nature with respect to avoid adverse consequences

• human actions generate chains of effect that reverberate through ecosystems & social systems

2. Nature is benign/perverse

• Benign – nature provides us with all that we need. For as long as we do not radically change ecosystems from their natural conditions, we will continuously benefit from it.

• Perverse – if people change the environment to an extent that they are unable to function properly (illegal logging), we will suffer from nature’s fury (catastrophe, natural disaster)

3. Nature is Fragile (delicate, frail, weak)

• nature has a delicate balance that will fall apart if people change ecosystems from their natural conditions. Departure from natural conditions can lead to disastrous & irreversible consequences for man & nature alike.

4. Nature is Durable (stable, permanent, enduring)

• as opposed to being fragile, this view holds that people can use & reshape nature anyway they want. No matter what people do to the ecosystem, there are natural & social forces that will prevent the ecosystem from being damaged severely & completely.

5. Nature is Capricious (unpredictable, fickle)

• Nature acts randomly & everything is determined by fate.

• People can not control or maintain the ecosystem in any particular way.

D. Environmental Philosophies & Political Views on Nature 1. ROMANTICISM

• By Henry David Thoreau, an American Naturalist and activist and a primary force behind romanticism which was a movement that originated in Europe.

• It is a philosophy that emphasizes interdependence and relatedness between humankind and nature.

• Romantics believe that all creatures were infused with a divine presence that commanded respect and that humans were not exceptional in this scheme

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GEOG 1: “NATURE, SOCIETY & TECHNOLOGY”

2. TRANSCENDENTALISM

• By Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Branch of American romanticism, it had an influence over contemporary understandings of nature

• It is a philosophy in which a person attempts to rise above nature and the limitations of the body to the point where the spirit dominates the flesh, where a mystical and spiritual life replaces a primitive and savage one.

3. CONSERVATION

• A view that natural resources should be used wisely, and that society’s effects on the natural world represent stewardship and not exploitation.

• It further implies responsibility to future generations as well as the natural world itself in the utilization of resources.

4. PRESERVATION

• An approach to nature advocating that certain habitats, species and resources should remain off-limits to human use regardless of whether the use maintains or depletes the resource in question

• More extreme position that conservation New Approaches to understanding human interactions: 1. Environmental Ethics

• a philosophical perspective on nature that prescribes moral principle as guidance for our treatment of it.

• Society has a moral obligation to treat nature according to the rules of moral behavior that exists for our treatment of each other.

• CONTROVERSY: perspective that insects, animals, trees, and other elements of nature have rights in the same way that humans do. If the moral system of our society insists that humans are to have the right to a safe and happy life, then it is argued that the same rights should be extended to nonhuman nature.

2. Ecofeminism

• The view that patriarchal ideology is at the center of our present environmental problems. Because patriarchy has equated women with nature, it has enabled the subordination and exploitation of both

• The unifying objective is to dismantle the patriarchal biases in western culture and replace them with a perspective that values both cultural and biological diversity.

3. Deep Ecology

• A belief that there is no absolute divide between humanity and everything else, that a complex and diverse set of relations constitute the universe. The belief that all things are internally related would

enable society to treat the nonhuman world with respect and not simply as a source of raw materials for human use.

Two Key Concepts: 1. Self Realization: view that humans must learn to recognize that they are part of the nonhuman world. 2. Biospherical egalitarianism: insists that the earth or the biosphere is the central focus of all life and that all members of nature, human or nonhuman, deserve the same respect and treatment.

THINK: Natural Disasters, although they are a powerful natural force, their impacts are very much shaped by the society in which they occur and the level and type of technology that the society employs example, Cherry Hills. Risk = Vulnerability X Hazard Hazard – component of risk, either natural or man-made. It becomes a risk if population or property is exposed to that particular hazard.

• Renewed interest in the society-nature relationship is the result of the persistence and large number of environmental crises.

• In the past, technology is seen as the apparent solution to environmental problems, but, is technology the only solution?

• These thoughts lead to a heightened awareness on current issues, including climate change, hence we have Al Gore’s Inconvenient truth, 11

th hour, 3R, etc.

Earth Summit:

• First held in Stockholm in 1972

• Second is in Rio de Janeiro in 1992

• Agreed on sustainable development Sustainable Development: development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission). Agenda 21: For Sustainable Development Philippine Agenda 21: Adopted during the Ramos Presidency

• Nature, Society and Technology constitute a complex relationship: we see nature both as a physical realm and a social construct.

• Because we regard nature as a social creation, it is important to understand the many social ideas of nature present in different societies. The Judeo-Christian

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GEOG 1: “NATURE, SOCIETY & TECHNOLOGY”

tradition dominates the present-day perception of nature in which man has the right to dominate

Nature and Society is mediated by technology. Technology can be: a. physical objects or artifacts (plow) b. activities or processes (steel-making) c. knowledge or know-how (engineering) This is often measured in terms of the level of industrialization achieved & energy per capita consumption.

• A recent attempt to conceptualize the relationship between social and environmental changes has emerged from concern with global environment change.

• A formula to distinguish the sources of social impacts on the environment has been advanced. This relates human population pressures on environmental resources to the level of affluence and access to technology in a given society. I = PAT

Where: I – impact on Earth’s resources P – population A – Affluence, as measured by per capita income T – Technology factor Ecological Footprint: A measure of human demand on the earth’s ecosystems, basically comparing impact of human actions on the environment with the planet’s ecological capacity to regenerate. (visit www.myfootprint.org/) Carrying Capacity: the number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations. EARLY HUMAN IMPACTS Paleolithic

• Early stone age

• Chipped stone, fire, clovis point

• Natural landscape to kill animals – mega faunal extinction

Neolithic

• late stone age

• agriculture, irrigation, surplus European Exploration

• colonization

• columbian exchange

• ecological imperialism Human Action & Recent Environmental Change

• Industrialization has great impact on the natural world. This, coupled with urbanization has revolutionized

human life & brought about far-reaching ecological changes.

• 2 Central Issues: energy-use & land-use change Impact on Energy needs on the environment:

• Resource as a curse/blessing

• A steady increase in power production and demand since the beginning of Industrial Revolution has been paralleled by an increase in resource extraction and conversion.

• Renewable (solar, hydro-electric, wind, geothermal) vs Non-Renewable (fossil fuel, natural gas)

• The production and consumption of these available resources is geographically uneven (3

rd vs 1

st WC)

• Important to realize that in every stage of energy conversion process (from discovery to extraction, processing, & utilization) has an impact on the physical landscape (mining,dams,oil spills, nuclear)