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68 matches in All Departments
Humans have become so powerful that we have disrupted the
functioning of the Earth System as a whole, bringing on a new
geological epoch the Anthropocene one in which the serene and
clement conditions that allowed civilisation to flourish are
disappearing and we quail before 'the wakened giant'. The emergence
of a conscious creature capable of using technology to bring about
a rupture in the Earth's geochronology is an event of monumental
significance, on a par with the arrival of civilisation itself.
What does it mean to have arrived at this point, where human
history and Earth history collide? Some interpret the Anthropocene
as no more than a development of what they already know, obscuring
and deflating its profound significance. But the Anthropocene
demands that we rethink everything. The modern belief in the free,
reflexive being making its own future by taking control of its
environment even to the point of geoengineering is now impossible
because we have rendered the Earth more unpredictable and less
controllable, a disobedient planet. At the same time, all attempts
by progressives to cut humans down to size by attacking
anthropocentrism come up against the insurmountable fact that human
beings now possess enough power to change the Earth's course. It's
too late to turn back the geological clock, and there is no going
back to premodern ways of thinking. We must face the fact that
humans are at the centre of the world, even if we must give the
idea that we can control the planet. These truths call for a new
kind of anthropocentrism, a philosophy by which we might use our
power responsibly and find a way to live on a defiant Earth.
Humans have become so powerful that we have disrupted the
functioning of the Earth System as a whole, bringing on a new
geological epoch the Anthropocene one in which the serene and
clement conditions that allowed civilisation to flourish are
disappearing and we quail before 'the wakened giant'. The emergence
of a conscious creature capable of using technology to bring about
a rupture in the Earth's geochronology is an event of monumental
significance, on a par with the arrival of civilisation itself.
What does it mean to have arrived at this point, where human
history and Earth history collide? Some interpret the Anthropocene
as no more than a development of what they already know, obscuring
and deflating its profound significance. But the Anthropocene
demands that we rethink everything. The modern belief in the free,
reflexive being making its own future by taking control of its
environment even to the point of geoengineering is now impossible
because we have rendered the Earth more unpredictable and less
controllable, a disobedient planet. At the same time, all attempts
by progressives to cut humans down to size by attacking
anthropocentrism come up against the insurmountable fact that human
beings now possess enough power to change the Earth's course. It's
too late to turn back the geological clock, and there is no going
back to premodern ways of thinking. We must face the fact that
humans are at the centre of the world, even if we must give the
idea that we can control the planet. These truths call for a new
kind of anthropocentrism, a philosophy by which we might use our
power responsibly and find a way to live on a defiant Earth.
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River of Stones (Paperback)
Seymour C Hamilton; Illustrated by Shirley Mackenzie
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R577
R489
Discovery Miles 4 890
Save R88 (15%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Ellie (Paperback, 2nd ed.)
Seymour C Hamilton; Illustrated by Shirley Mackenzie
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R370
R313
Discovery Miles 3 130
Save R57 (15%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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I Need Thee (Hardcover)
Jacquie C Hamilton
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R817
R672
Discovery Miles 6 720
Save R145 (18%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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