Nature and Power---World Environmental History

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3. Entering the Depths of Time: The Mystical Regenerative Power of Nature in Lynn White's (Lynn White) 1966 Christmas Report, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," Traces the "Mission of God" Given to Humans in Judaism and Christianity, and the Old Testament: "Let the Land Be Your Servant." ② This report became a "Holy Book" for the birth of environmental history, and for a time, tracing ancient history and studying the Old Testament became very popular. Later research proved that this view of world environmental history was difficult to apply to empirical research. When environmental history research moved beyond the introductory essays to return to the main topic, it primarily focused on the industrial era, where emissions were the most pressing environmental issue of that time. If people regard water and air pollution as the central issues of environmental history, then objectively, only the era of coal and oil is truly important. However, narrowing our perspective based on current problems historically is short-sighted. Today, people no longer doubt that the continuous human cultural crisis over thousands of years is related to the resource scarcity it has caused. At the current level of research, we must first recognize that large-scale environmental changes over thousands of years are caused by humans themselves. The large-scale changes to the environment caused by fire-farming economies and pastures far exceed early industrialization. Today's research shows that in typical cases, marshes are formed in the process of soil erosion, and soil erosion is caused by the destruction of forests and overgrazing in the Neolithic era. Prehistoric migration indicates that humans had already exhausted the resources in their inhabited areas in early times. Of course, this has not yet led to global environmental problems, but when humans live in a small space, the world faces the threat of resource depletion. The results of geoarchaeological research prove that environmental balance rarely lasts, even Karl Buzer, who studied the Egyptians, firmly believed this. The Egyptians are considered a model of maintaining the balance between humans and nature. As a historian of the Mediterranean mountains, John Mecknell often emphasizes the modern roots of deforestation, but he also believes that all adaptations to the environment, including those in ancient times, cannot last long, and all balances are temporary. Is all this just the meaningless past perfect tense of the contemporary? But people should not forget that some of our current environmental behaviors still follow ancient patterns, and some of our feelings are also consistent with the environmental conditions of ancient times. Why can't human senses perceive highly toxic carbon monoxide? For evolutionary biologist Wuktits, this question is simple, "Because carbon monoxide did not exist in the long years without coal stoves." And our love for pastoral landscapes is justified by countless reasons. To understand how our current environmental behaviors are shaped, environmental historians must return to the past and delve into the depths of time. Here are two ships far apart, which can help people sail to the source of the relationship between humans and nature that has lasted for thousands of years: one is the study of objective relics, such as pollen, bones, and soil structure, using scientific methods; the other relies on the semantics of nature and related concepts, starting from the proliferation of a part of human environmental history in ourselves. For this, a certain intuitive understanding is required. The analysis of pollen and the use of radiocarbon dating—study of time determination—make us realize that the struggle between humans and nature has a history of tens of thousands of years. It shows that the sparse forests of Central Europe did not begin in the Middle Ages but had already appeared thousands of years earlier, and Germany was not covered in dense primeval forests as early as the time of the Battle of Varna. The barren land of Luenebuerger was not caused by the consumption of wood by the Luenebuerger salt works, but as pollen analysis results show, the desertification had already begun 1,500 years BC: estimated to be the result of fire-farming economies and livestock grazing. There is even evidence that early humans not only reduced the area of forests but also strongly influenced the combination of their species. For example, they promoted the spread of oak and beech trees as animal feed. However, pollen analysis shows that plants also change on their own without human intervention. The persuasiveness of pollen is naturally limited. People have only studied the surrounding areas of lakes and marshes where pollen is stored, so it is mainly in wet rather than dry areas. The process of prehistoric grassland formation may be overlooked by pollen analysis. Based on pollen research, early forest coverage may be overestimated or underestimated. Conclusions drawn from the quantitative composition of large-scale ecosystems based on pollen counts may not be reliable. Can we know the ancient human view of nature? To this, many people will immediately object, pointing out that our current understanding of nature is based on modern concepts, and past concepts of nature are irrelevant to the environment. In 1962, Joachim Ritter, in a highly regarded article on the beauty of nature, proposed that "nature as an environment" only exists "in the soil of modern society, under free conditions." However, this view is a typical illusion, stemming from our narrow focus on modern society. Just look at the frescoes of Pompeii to remember how long the obsession with lush, budding nature and the joy of birdsong has existed. Hildegard von Bingen believed that there was a green force (viriditas) that could excite both plants and animals. There are many facts that prove humans have an innate biophilia tendency. Environmental history is based on anthropology. In Greek, "nature" and "physical" derive from the word "growth." It is certain that its original meaning was not wild but referred to the essence, rational order, and abstract nature of things; this semantic chain extends to the modern era, but at the same time, the concept of nature often returns to its original meaning, to the world of growth, to its lush prosperity. It is noteworthy that even in reflections and discussions on the concept of nature, there are constant factors. Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, once doubted his teacher's teleological view of nature, arguing that there was no reason to believe that nature exists for humans. This shows that the debate between "anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism" has a long history. Seneca called nature the mother who protects humans and questioned the villa owners who destroyed nature: "How long can lakes still exist without the roofs of your villas?" This makes people think it comes from the ecologist by the Starnbergsee in the 20th century. Once again, people realize that current environmental problems and the modernity of people's environmental awareness cannot be overestimated. KoHung, the founder of Chinese alchemy, once quoted the critique of the anarchistic philosopher PaoChingyen from the 4th century, who criticized the behavior that assumes nature exists for humans: "Peeling the bark of cassia trees, inhaling the resin of cassia trees, is not what cassia trees desire; pulling the feathers of wild chickens, tearing the meat of kingfishers, is not what birds hope for. The germs of deception and cunning are hidden in the behavior of opposing nature, and they are based on violence." This actually expresses a maxim of the contemporary ecological movement, that violent behavior against the external nature will produce new violence, which in turn opposes human nature. As early as the ancient Greek and Roman times, people realized that although nature is easily harmed, it is ultimately invincible, and opposing nature can only bring harm to oneself. "You can drive nature away with a pitchfork, but it will come back." Classical poets like Horaz, who were passionate about pastoral life, were rare. Since reproduction is also an attribute of nature, the sexual meaning of nature is also very long. In the 12th century, the scholastic philosopher Alain de Lille placed the reproductive goddess Natum in a garden surrounded by forests and eternal spring, and complained about the obstruction of reproduction through sodomy through her. Even in medieval scholasticism, a post-classical reproductive goddess appeared, although it was dressed in the cloak of Christian morality. Ernst Robert Curtius said: "The ancient reverence for reproduction" "flows like water through an open dam" "into the imaginative world of Christian Western Europe." People not only use "nature" to female images but also to represent a comfortable lifestyle that can be felt on the skin. In the 16th century, the Lutheran missionary John Matthias said while preaching in the mountain town of Joachimsthal, "A life and thought like nature is the best life." The experience of relieving compulsion and satisfying the needs of the body and soul to bring comfort and joy has a long history. Over the long course of historical development, the inner nature has led people to the external nature. Botany originated from medical botany. In the history of philosophy, discussions involving the concept of "nature" mainly concern sexuality, medicine, the art of life, and natural rights. In works on the natural sciences and technology, if the concept of nature is mentioned at all, it is mostly in marginal positions. Therefore, as a philosophical category, nature has missed most of the extremely important, normative, and practical connotations. To many theorists, the concept of nature is historically contradictory and confusing, and this confusion has only intensified in modern times. Nature is essence; nature is wilderness; nature is a teacher; nature is unconquerable; nature is good; nature is terrible. From this confusion, what definition can be drawn? People can easily separate nature as a law from nature as a philosophical category. What is puzzling is how the ideal of nature has never been destroyed? How does the concept of nature emerge from every whirlpool of confusion and then restore its original meaning? These phenomena seem to have never received the attention they deserve. In any case, this concept that has lasted for thousands of years must contain some meaning, whether symbolic or practical. The fundamental error is clearly that people, influenced by philosophers, misunderstand "nature" as just a concept. In fact, it refers to something else. Norbert Elias called this word a "symbol representing a very high level of synthesis," that is, the synthesis of long-term collective experience and reflection. Without a doubt, it is an abstraction but is constantly concretized and proven to be a beneficial guide for life. The mystery may lie here. How can the experiential basis of the metaphorical nature be briefly summarized? This experience is that our own happiness is closely linked in many ways to the growth of the animal and plant world, to the clear and tireless flow of springs; it is also an intuition that everything must conform to the rules it determines, and people cannot resist arbitrarily. The role of the ideal nature is no longer always related to the concept of nature. Generally, most people's daily adaptation to natural conditions occurs in a tacit manner. It has been proven that the imaginative world associated with nature is always useful, and even necessary for life. The reason is simple: humans are a biological organism, like other organisms they depend on, and must obey the same laws. Without water, people will die of thirst; without plants and animals, people will starve; without sunlight, people will wither; without sexual intercourse, the human species will go extinct. "Nature" is not just a topic for discussion; it is ultimately the source of human animality. Discussions that ignore the biological nature of humans as the foundation of human history are as absurd as denying the inseparable connection between the spirit and the body. The vitality of nature repeatedly proves that it is the opposite of what humans create and invent, rules and constraints. Therefore, "nature" does not particularly point to primitive harmony, because it does not need such an expression, but points to the dangerous area of ancient human existence. Since ancient times, a strong sense of nature has often arisen from solitude, including the solitude of two people together. If a person is alone or silent, it is easier to hear the chirping of birds. In medieval Europe, ancient China, and India, hermits or wanderers often had a particularly close relationship with nature. So, is there a special direct relationship between the individual and nature, or is the relationship with nature always mediated through society? Social scientists unanimously believe that "of course, it is through society." But everyone's connection with nature is through their own body. The body belongs only to oneself; it is the carrier of life and life, a more complete whole than any social system. Society may misunderstand the inevitability of nature. The more complex and comprehensive a society is, the more it invests in social affairs, the more likely it is to become incapable of responding to the inevitability of nature. Environmental history and social history are undoubtedly closely linked, but they will not form a harmonious whole. Similarly, biophilia—if it exists at all—is not a reliable intuition for protecting the environment. But where should the intuition for protecting the environment come from? A person's behavior itself will not harm the environment, but the behavior of a group of people will harm the environment. Even those who love nature in daily life have their limits: many modern people cannot fully recognize the role of rain. Without rain, there is no vibrant nature. The danger of one-sided and biased understanding not only exists in environmental politics but also in the feeling of nature.