x
today have so comprehensively explored this baffling paradox. Tobias and
Morrison’s psychoanalytic approach is critical to an emerging perspective from the
humanities and sciences that will not shy away from the absolute troubling truth of
ourselves. And while there are countless conceptual frameworks for addressing
these etiologies we face as a society, no one book has ever collated so much of the
historic and contemporary fabric of these difficult deliberations. It is an ecological
corollary, in a sense, to Will and Ariel Durant’s Story of Civilization (though, obviously, in 1 volume, not 11.)
The ultimate paradox is that we are tiny, insignificant, probably irrelevant, dust
motes in an obscure galaxy. And yet, we are so full of ourselves, so full of passion,
longing and hope. All of these predicates and presumptions would assume, as a
fundamental premise of human existence, that we would cherish every day and
every life form. But we don’t. Most people are so troubled and haunted by circumstances not of their making that it’s just enough to get through the day, get some
sleep at night and have a good meal, if possible. We’ve lost the connection to what
we truly need to cherish with every breath. We either take it for granted or destroy it.
The great tragedy enshrined within the mesmerizing pages of On the Nature of
Ecological Paradox is that most of us more or less have a general idea of what’s
going on, whether in the guise of sheer human chaos, millions of acres across the
planet horribly on fire, the number of natural calamities, human violence, civil wars,
extinctions, climate change, and the scope of medical fall-out of pandemics, all on
the rise. Here, this syndrome of anthropocenic causes and consequences is conveyed through what can only be characterized as a culminating journey of a half
century of deep reflection and field research. With its collective eye looking directly
before it, as well as the near future, Tobias and Morrison unstintingly encourage us
to think clearly and feel deeply, as to how we arrived at this moment, and what our
remaining options may provide for. They offer us uncluttered avenues that reject an
otherwise mathematically certain species demise – which by all accounts we currently, selfishly favor – and, instead, project cognitive and ethical scenarios that this
and future generations can cultivate, and thereby usher in the time when a more
sane, compassionate co-existence is within our grasp.
President, Population Communication
Bob Gillespie
Pasadena, CA, USA
Foreword
today have so comprehensively explored this baffling paradox. Tobias and
Morrison’s psychoanalytic approach is critical to an emerging perspective from the
humanities and sciences that will not shy away from the absolute troubling truth of
ourselves. And while there are countless conceptual frameworks for addressing
these etiologies we face as a society, no one book has ever collated so much of the
historic and contemporary fabric of these difficult deliberations. It is an ecological
corollary, in a sense, to Will and Ariel Durant’s Story of Civilization (though, obviously, in 1 volume, not 11.)
The ultimate paradox is that we are tiny, insignificant, probably irrelevant, dust
motes in an obscure galaxy. And yet, we are so full of ourselves, so full of passion,
longing and hope. All of these predicates and presumptions would assume, as a
fundamental premise of human existence, that we would cherish every day and
every life form. But we don’t. Most people are so troubled and haunted by circumstances not of their making that it’s just enough to get through the day, get some
sleep at night and have a good meal, if possible. We’ve lost the connection to what
we truly need to cherish with every breath. We either take it for granted or destroy it.
The great tragedy enshrined within the mesmerizing pages of On the Nature of
Ecological Paradox is that most of us more or less have a general idea of what’s
going on, whether in the guise of sheer human chaos, millions of acres across the
planet horribly on fire, the number of natural calamities, human violence, civil wars,
extinctions, climate change, and the scope of medical fall-out of pandemics, all on
the rise. Here, this syndrome of anthropocenic causes and consequences is conveyed through what can only be characterized as a culminating journey of a half
century of deep reflection and field research. With its collective eye looking directly
before it, as well as the near future, Tobias and Morrison unstintingly encourage us
to think clearly and feel deeply, as to how we arrived at this moment, and what our
remaining options may provide for. They offer us uncluttered avenues that reject an
otherwise mathematically certain species demise – which by all accounts we currently, selfishly favor – and, instead, project cognitive and ethical scenarios that this
and future generations can cultivate, and thereby usher in the time when a more
sane, compassionate co-existence is within our grasp.
President, Population Communication
Bob Gillespie
Pasadena, CA, USA
Foreword