skepticalcactus's review against another edition
Want to pick it up later just got busy!
nerdy_scholar's review against another edition
5.0
Read this slim volume in less than two days. The eloquence and moving style of the late E. O. Wilson is simply irresistible. His argument for the conservation of ecological systems and belief in the kinship of all life forms is truly inspirational.
baldingape's review against another edition
3.0
'The Natural world is the refuge of the spirit, remote, static, richer even than the human imagination. But we cannot exist in this paradise without the machine that tears it apart.' pg 11 - 12
And that is perhaps the most heartbreaking thing about being a human.
We see and hear all about this climate change stuff, and while some deny it still, those of us that are very aware of it are left in this dilemma where we know what's going on, but we feel somewhat helpless to do anything about it.
Tie that in with the last book I read about just how much of the land is cut off to people, and its helplessness becomes more apparent. What can little old me do? We might ask ourselves one of the plebs in the 'machine in the garden,' except much of that garden is taken away from us. And we're just left with the machine.
Yet that machine is the very thing that I rely on. Many of us do, but as a disabled person, I certainly feel trapped by the machine because as I look into the abyss, I see that it is the machine that keeps me alive, yet we should arguably have been playing in the garden all along.
And that is the dilemma that I live in.
Without the machine, I am dead. But without the garden life is empty.
I especially liked when he said this towards the end of the book:
'I have argued in this book that we are human in good part because of the particular way we affiliate with other organisms. They are the matrix in which the human mind originated and is permanently rooted.' pg 129.
Could it be that we're becoming a species that will slowly become more defined by how we don't affiliate with other organisms?
'The forests may all be cut; radiation slowly rise, the winters grow steadily colder, but if the effects are unlikely to become decisive for a few generations, very few people will be stirred to revolt.' Edward O. Wilson wrote.
The book published in 1984 and it's still a problem we're trying to navigate in 2021.
By the end, he states that we need to promote more selfish ideas as to why we need to conserve the world around us, and I think he may have a point.
Try as hard as we might, all attempts to get people to care about the 'natural world' outside of themselves and their enclosed habitats appears to fail if you don't appeal to their own self-interests.
This may be an ugly view upon humans, but it nevertheless seems to be true.
And that is perhaps the most heartbreaking thing about being a human.
We see and hear all about this climate change stuff, and while some deny it still, those of us that are very aware of it are left in this dilemma where we know what's going on, but we feel somewhat helpless to do anything about it.
Tie that in with the last book I read about just how much of the land is cut off to people, and its helplessness becomes more apparent. What can little old me do? We might ask ourselves one of the plebs in the 'machine in the garden,' except much of that garden is taken away from us. And we're just left with the machine.
Yet that machine is the very thing that I rely on. Many of us do, but as a disabled person, I certainly feel trapped by the machine because as I look into the abyss, I see that it is the machine that keeps me alive, yet we should arguably have been playing in the garden all along.
And that is the dilemma that I live in.
Without the machine, I am dead. But without the garden life is empty.
I especially liked when he said this towards the end of the book:
'I have argued in this book that we are human in good part because of the particular way we affiliate with other organisms. They are the matrix in which the human mind originated and is permanently rooted.' pg 129.
Could it be that we're becoming a species that will slowly become more defined by how we don't affiliate with other organisms?
'The forests may all be cut; radiation slowly rise, the winters grow steadily colder, but if the effects are unlikely to become decisive for a few generations, very few people will be stirred to revolt.' Edward O. Wilson wrote.
The book published in 1984 and it's still a problem we're trying to navigate in 2021.
By the end, he states that we need to promote more selfish ideas as to why we need to conserve the world around us, and I think he may have a point.
Try as hard as we might, all attempts to get people to care about the 'natural world' outside of themselves and their enclosed habitats appears to fail if you don't appeal to their own self-interests.
This may be an ugly view upon humans, but it nevertheless seems to be true.
cdua's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
What a read. I had to read this book for my biology class this year, and it was both under and overwhelming. I found that it fascinated me at times, and delved into topics or ideas that I had never even considered. But at times it was excessively confusing and simply rambled on to be honest. And I like to ramble, so you think I would be forgiving with that. Overall, I think it was such an educational and interesting read. It was definitely inspiring for someone interested within ecology and I was glad to have to do the required discussions on each chapter because that enhanced the experience of reading it a lot more than I would have expected it to.
cetian's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful essay in humanism that sugests we search for a new ethic confirming an afinity with all life. A work that asserts science as a precious tool to observe and apreciate the natural world.
Very inspiring these days when misantrophy is almost the obvious partner of ecological despair. And many fantasize about how better off the biosphere would be without humans.
Wonderful writting, mixing the love of science and a passion for human culture. Its descriptions of nature, both in its intrinsic beauty and in our enjoyment of it are great literature. There is an uncompromising pragmatism that never gives room to cynicism. In a way, this work can also be a great impulse to tune the philosophy of science with bioethics.
Very inspiring these days when misantrophy is almost the obvious partner of ecological despair. And many fantasize about how better off the biosphere would be without humans.
Wonderful writting, mixing the love of science and a passion for human culture. Its descriptions of nature, both in its intrinsic beauty and in our enjoyment of it are great literature. There is an uncompromising pragmatism that never gives room to cynicism. In a way, this work can also be a great impulse to tune the philosophy of science with bioethics.
jessferg's review against another edition
4.0
Ants the size of baby mice. ANTS!!! THE SIZE OF BABY MICE!!!!! Even if you don't read the whole book, essays "The Superorganism," "The Time Machine," and "The Poetic Species" are well worth your attention.
theoisnotalive's review against another edition
1.0
pretty boring and dense read, sprinkled with weird attributions to colonialism as being a form of wanderlust, and a very strange few paragraphs claiming that socialism is antithetical to environmental conservation. very very white patriarchal view of the environment, would give 0 stars if i could
nukedy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.0