The effect of the delusion of a purely intra-human life, of a life that is based and focused exclusively upon a humanly defined economy, is that we cease to be attentive to the biological, extra-human conditions that are indispensable for life’s flourishing - this “Great Economy” that surrounds and supports all our cultural efforts. Our lives become theoretical and abstract, focused on the hypothetically possible rather than the concrete and necessary present. Indeed, the present is often sacrificed for the future. Because we do not attend to the present, it is all but inevitable that our minds, whether out of blindness or hubris, will turn against the world. What we fail to see is that by turning against the world we finally turn against ourselves too. This transformation of cultures into consumptive, profit-driven organizations invariably leads to the exploitation of the earth and its inhabitants. The integrity of things, the sense that they are of value in themselves and in terms of the roles they play in a larger whole, is eclipsed by our desire to turn them to our benefit. It is time for us to recognize that disembodied desire, desire cut off from the natural and social webs of interdependence, eventually leads to our own homelessness. We must give up the age-old dream of the unencumbered human life, for there is, in practice, no such thing as autonomy. Practically, there is only a distinction between responsible and irresponsible dependence. - From Wendell Berrys Art of the Commonplace
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 17:53:31 +0000
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