Is God the Biosphere? - 2 - The Power of Nature

04/30/22 • 30 min

We left off at the end of the last episode wondering what might make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention; this in the context of the all-too-human reality of our challenges - the tragedy of the commons, the addiction system, the psychological imperative of avoidance.

In listening back over this episode, I'm reminded of two things: one, Edmund in King Lear - "Thou, Nature, art my Goddess!" And the other, Fidel Castro: if he was to go through the revolution again, he said, he would select just twelve highly committed comrades - echoing, no doubt, the twelve disciples of Christian mythology.

In this episode we start to feel our way into our relationship with the Biosphere. In particular Ed takes a cue from Lynne White, who argued in the 1960's that Western religion was a root cause of environmental degradation, but - controversial! - a religious way of thinking might be the way out.

Talking Points -

Context: the Tragedy of the Commons, the Addiction System, Avoidance etc

We are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there's no escape

But the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it?

Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and Beliefs

What is religion?

Was there a good idea behind Christianity?

Earth Mother as a mind-set

Purpose and fly-fishing on the Danube

Nature as a hedonistic giver

Biophilic design

What should we give to nature? The two way relationship

Biomes

Purpose and change in organisations

Links

Article on Lynne White in Nature:

https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/14041-the-long-reach-of-lynn-white-jr-s-the-historical-roots-of-our-ecologic-crisis

Original (pdf):

https://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdf

Jesus - a Buddhist Monk - YouTube/ BBC

https://youtu.be/FsN4zE2yilo

Kindness is the opposite of stress (Dr. David R. Hamilton)

https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-is-the-opposite-of-stress/

And podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-scientists-case-for-woo-woo/id1081584611?i=1000548804097-

Biophilic design -

Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design

Video 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting:

https://youtu.be/MJ6fbYz-x04

Fly-fishing on the Danube (BBC):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015qj3/earths-great-rivers-ii-series-1-2-danube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking Points -

Context: the Tragedy of the Commons, the Addiction System, Avoidance etc

We are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there's no escape

But the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it?

Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and Beliefs

What is religion?

Was there a good idea behind Christianity?

Earth Mother as a mind-set

Purpose and fly-fishing on the Danube

Nature as a hedonistic giver

Biophilic design

What should we give to nature? The two way relationship

Biomes

Purpose and change in organisations

Links

Article on Lynne White in Nature:

https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/14041-the-long-reach-of-lynn-white-jr-s-the-historical-roots-of-our-ecologic-crisis

Original (pdf):

https://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdf

Jesus - a Buddhist Monk - YouTube/ BBC

https://youtu.be/FsN4zE2yilo

Kindness is the opposite of stress (Dr. David R. Hamilton)

https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-is-the-opposite-of-stress/

And podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-scientists-case-for-woo-woo/id1081584611?i=1000548804097-

Biophilic design -

Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design

Video 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting:

https://youtu.be/MJ6fbYz-x04

Fly-fishing on the Danube (BBC):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015qj3/earths-great-rivers-ii-series-1-2-danube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Is God the Biosphere? - 1 - Avoidance And The Addiction System

When we finished series 2 - Preflight Checklist - one thing was clear, any governance for Spaceship Earth going forward must put the Biosphere at the centre. Governance models from households, up through companies and countries, to international bodies must include the Biosphere as their central partner.

So far, perhaps, so obvious. We know we need to act, and in many cases, we know what we need to do. But it's not happening. We just can't seem to muster sufficient focus.

In Series 3 - Is God the Biosphere? - we interrogate this state of play.

In this episode we introduce the background and take a look a the systemic straight-jackets that contain us - politically, economically, psychologically - in a kind of trap that makes it almost impossible to avoid feeding the beast. But this is not doom and gloom, not at all. As we constantly reiterate, Change Is Possible - this is our purpose. And there can be no effective change without a frank assessment of reality, so this is where we start.

And then. As the series progresses, we will explore the tranquil jungles of possibility, armed with the question:

What, exactly, would make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention?

Talking Points:

The attractions of Systems Thinking, and what it is

The challenge - Biodiversity Revisited

Urgency of IPCC report: what does Systems Thinking have to contribute?

Why has the biosphere not proved a compelling object for our attention?

1 - The Tragedy of The Commons: shortsightedness

2 - The Global Addiction System: The monetary system, and the Technosphere

3 - Avoidance: The doom bar, the scale of the challenge, the vast constituency of the very rich, the fantasies

Links:

Biodiversity Revisited:

https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/biodiversity-revisited-research-agenda-2020.pdf

IPCC Summary - (MIT Technology Review)

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/04/1048832/un-climate-report-carbon-removal-is-now-essential/?truid=&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=&utm_content=04-05-2022&mc_cid=1ab39c4971&mc_eid=24fa1486a0

Original Peter Haff article describing the Technosphere - Technology as a Geological Phenomenon: Implications for Human Well-Being:

https://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/Haff%202013%20Technology%20as%20a%20Geological%20Phenomenon.pdf

Epic sweep of monetary system (book review):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-financial-system-is-supposed-to-serve-the-economy--not-harm-it/2019/12/26/59c26028-1d0c-11ea-8d58-5ac3600967a1_story.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Is God the Biosphere? - 3 - The Nature and Meaning of God

What are we talking about, when we talk about God? There's no doubt that something has been lost with the pervasive decline of religion in the modern world. Society is fractured. We lack a shared framework. We're tired of trying to work everything out. It's easier just to avoid thinking at all.

Which is in some ways the point of religion - to avoid having to reinvent the wheel when it comes to purpose and morality. In its absence, we are adrift.

Here at the Hidden Power Podcast one thing has been clear all along: we need to put the Biosphere at the centre of our governance models, and as Lynne White proposed over Fifty years ago - religion may be the key. What is a governance model, if not the prioritising of what is important?

In this episode, Ed sets out various ideas about God, laying them against the Biosphere like a series of well-formed suits.

Talking points:

Context of this episode: nature in its maternal aspect

What are we talking about when we talk about God

Some theologies - Scott Littleton, Monotheism, Carl Jung

Worship is for the Worshipper

Gods as forces of nature, as the highest thing

Explanation - God vs Science

God as unifying moral compass

The symbol of human value

Spirit - team spirit

Faith - God as purpose, God as love