[lit-ideas] What's The Bug?
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:42:58 EST
Health, Homeostasis, and Disease -- Individual and Collective
The Analysis
Thanks to J. Wager for the interesting comment.
"Or "ecology." If mankind is "diseased" then mankind might be cured. But if
mankind IS the "disease," and the environment is the real patient, perhaps
the only way to "cure" the planet is to remove the cause of the disease?"
Indeed. If one revises the _title_ (or subtitle) of Gehlen's book, it does
sound so _apocalyptic_: "Man, and its place in nature" -- I cannot recall the
German now, but it's in the Wiki article.
His teacher was of course Scheler, and we had to read that. Scheler I found
more congenial, and not too different from what Aristotle is saying in the
'progression' of 'orders' in the natural kingdom from 'lower' animals to 'man'.
I always found a bit "too German" though the last stages of the Scheler --
or indeed Nikolai Hartmann -- another of Gehlen's tutors -- progression. When
man becomes the only animal able to _objectivise the spirit_. It is from
reading German philosophy like that, and their loose use of the word 'geist'
that
I become uncomfortable when L. K. Helm uses 'spirit' in the subject-line of
a post!
Now, Scheler and Hartmann were not necessarily into disease. Apparently it
was Plessner, who had studied biology at depth, who comes with the idea that
man _is_ the disease _of the kosmos_ (or Welt) (I forget the strict title) and
therefore also _diseased_, I believe.
There was a lot of comparison with 'higher apes', and the thing is not much
different from readings into 'ethology'.
"Ecology" we deal with at the secondary-school level, in an all too plain
boring level. The habitat and the eco-system, and the rest of it.
I suppose it comes out as natural that the presence of man will bring some
changes to the 'eco-system'.
This anti-humanistic page I was visiting (but it scared me, because they
said, "kill the retarded", when I do not think that they can provide much of a
spoil in the eco-system, never mind their dignity as human beings, but that's
what the anti-humanist is denying) brought issues like:
--- overpopulation, and the need for population control.
Which I think would be a good idea in Buenos Aires. Recoleta is becoming
_so_ crowded (:-)), especially on a nice Sunday afternoon -- not what it
used to be -- with everybody reading the Sunday newspapers in the sun.
--- emmigration (and perhaps tourism unless it's eco-tourism) should be
forbidden. If you think of it, half of the street cafe tables are occupied by
tourists from the world over, and the local may have to wait for a few minutes.
Surely this is something of anti-humanist concern. Why are these people _here_
in the first place?
--- Judy Evans was referring to older people. I think it's Ned Sherrin who
said that they can always index unindexed books. That's something that will
keep them entertained, and useful.
--- There's too much clothes and too much food, and too much window shopping
design-fashion shops, where one model looks exactly like the other. I'm glad
that Dame Helen Mirren has turned naturist, but that she can do in the South
of France, where she lives, hardly in Hampstead, where she otherwise
resides. But when one thinks of the Greeks, I think this mania for overfeeding
and
overdressing became fashionable with Marie Antoinette.
---- The environ I respect, but then I'm a birder. I love to watch birds and
classify them, etc. And study migration patterns. I feel it would be a
drawback if all we are left are the _birds_ but not the beatiful drawings of
the
birds made by some many birders -- starting perhaps with Audubon. I don't think
people who are into wildlife are necessarily being a menace to the environ.
Indeed, migration control and protection of breeding habitats is a good
'anti-humanistic' thing. I recall that when the breeding ground of the plover
was
found to be exactly the place where Argentines use (on the beach) to
celebrate the New Year with fireworks, the resolution was, "no fireworks",
which I
thought was excellent, but then you _can_ call me anti-humanist (with a human
face, ha ha).
We should start by giving proper burial to the many white dead men -- some
are still living, but they call themselves 'dead', so what the heck.
Cheers,
JL Speranza
Author of "How to Eliminate Man but not to Get Eliminated in the
Proceedings.
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