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A Film-Philosophy of Ecology and Enlightenment
A Film-Philosophy of Ecology and Enlightenment is a book written by Rupert Read and published by Routledge. Inspired by the philosophy of Wittgenstein and his idea that the purpose of real philosophical thinking is not to discover something new, but to show in a strikingly different light what is already there, this book provides philosophical readings of a number of ‘arthouse’ and Hollywood films. Each chapter contains a discussion of two films—one explored in greater detail and the other analyzed as a minor key which reveals the possibility for the book’s ideas to be applied across different films, registers, and genres. The readings are not only interpretive, but they offer…
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After the IPCC report, #climatereality
Climate-nemesis is near-certain. But “near-certain” is not yet “inevitable”. On the contrary, it is still uncertain. By making it sound inevitable, we run the risk of fomenting inaction at the worst possible time. We need to prepare for what is near-certain. But if we give up trying to stop it then it will become inevitable. We need to try to stop it: roll on the eXtinction Rebellion. The (exciting, but mainly terrifying) 1.5degrees report from the IPCC made (some of) the headlines; and now the media have mostly moved on. The mega-story of potential #climatebreakdown, the long emergency that threatens to take us, the news-story that should be on our…
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What is grief? A personal and philosophical answer
A few years ago, I lost a very close friend. His name was Matt. I found this loss an appalling and bewildering experience, in part because I’d never lost anyone as close. I’d lost my grandparents, but they were all very old when they went; whereas Matt was 12 years younger than me. There is a difference between someone going ‘when their time has come’ and someone being untimely ripped away from one. Furthermore, Matt was exceptionally full of energy and life. He died utterly unexpectedly – ‘prematurely’ – while on a long sea voyage in a yacht, which was lost in a storm in the South Pacific. This article concerns the philosophical issues…
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Religion after the death of God? The rise of pantheism and the return to the source
“The way you use the word “God” does not show who you mean, but what you mean”. – Ludwig Wittgenstein. Religion is and always has been much more and much other than just g/God, and certainly than the God of the Abrahamic religions. It is an awesome mistake to tie religion closely only to God, let alone to God as a lone super-person. As the philosopher Wittgenstein once, wonderfully, put it: It is very important that we talk of God’s eye, but not of God’s eyebrows – or eyelashes. If we look back to the beginnings of religion, what we find is far indeed from theism. What we find is animism. Everything being alive,…
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How whales and dolphins can teach us to be less stupid
For those tens of millions of us who have been watching the extraordinary Blue Planet II, the final programme in the series (which looked at the human-caused threats facing the seas) may have come as both a wake-up call and a disappointment. Disappointment, at what we’ve done to this beautiful planet. And perhaps also, disappointment that the BBC didn’t look deeply enough into why these harms have happened. What emerges when we reflect more profoundly in this way? The background to what we’re doing to the oceans includes, crucially, this: that the world is possessed by the ideology of possessive individualism, which comes in different varieties: liberal, neoliberal and libertarian.…
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Gaia is dead: we have killed her, you and I: A reworking of Nietzsche’s ‘The Madman’
‘Have you ever heard of the madman who on a bright morning lighted a lantern and ran to the market-place calling out unceasingly: “I seek the living Earth! I seek our planet, with all its riches of life. I seek Gaia!” – As there were many people standing about who did not believe in Gaia, he caused a great deal of amusement. Why! is Gaia lost? said one. Has Gaia strayed away like a child? said another. Or does She keep Herself hidden? Is She afraid of us? Has She taken a space-voyage? – the people cried out laughingly, all in a hubbub. The insane man jumped into their midst and transfixed them with…
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Wittgenstein among the Sciences: Wittgensteinian Investigations into the ‘Scientific Method’
Wittgenstein among the Sciences is a book written by Rupert Read and edited by Simon Summers. It is published by Routledge. Engaging with the question of the extent to which the so-called human, economic or social sciences are actually sciences, this book moves away from the search for a criterion or definition that will allow us to sharply distinguish the scientific from the non-scientific. Instead, the book favours the pursuit of clarity with regard to the various enterprises undertaken by human beings, with a view to dissolving the felt need for such a demarcation. In other words, Read pursues a ‘therapeutic’ approach to the issue of the status and nature…
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Precaution vs Promethean: The philosophical dividing line that will define 21st century politics
In the twentieth century, ideological dispute focussed on the battle between Left and Right, Labour and Capital. That struggle is still very relevant. But it’s become clear that it’s only one part of a much bigger picture. For, over the past couple of generations it’s become clear that the leading forces on both sides of that struggle share much common ground: they are both signed up to ‘growthism’, the belief that endless ‘economic growth’ is possible and desirable. That belief has been shattered by humanity’s breaching of the ecological limits to growth, as witnessed first by the ozone hole and then by ongoing climate crisis. Yet – because of ideological…
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Risky business: what philosophy can tell us about dealing with uncertainty, systemic risk, and potential catastrophe
The Philippines Supreme Court recently made a worldwide landmark decision, from a jurisprudential point of view, invoking for the first time ever the precautionary principle as a decisive basis for acting against GM crops. This decision has come under fire from scientists in the Philippines and America for being ‘anti-science’, but it has also been strongly defended. The defence throws up an issue of interest for philosophers, as the case for the defence prominently invokes recent work on the precautionary principle. Ever since the precautionary principle was first invented, critics have argued that it is merely a naïve and blunt instrument for blocking policy that various lobby groups do not…
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Why 'Effective Altruism' is ineffective: the case of refugees
The Effective Altruism (EA) movement has garnered a lot of attention over the last year. And it got a huge boost with the Zuckerbergs’ announcement that they would donate 99% of their Facebook shares to charity. The EA movement is now the world’s largest and most influential organised philanthropy network. So why does it have so little to say about the refugee crisis – surely one of the major humanitarian issues of our time? With the UN HRC claiming that there are 4.5 million refugees from Syria alone, and with every chance that the global number of refugees will continue to rise year on year for decades to come, owing…
