December 19, 2014 - 10:27
Nayanthi Peiris
Paper #13
12.18.2014
Fostering Ecological Intelligence
The term ecological intelligence can be analyzed by breaking it up into its component elements. Ecological, derived from a combination of the Greek word oikos, which means ‘dwelling place or habitation’, and logia which means ‘study of’, is essentially a branch of biology pertaining to the relationship between various organisms and between the environments they live in. Therefore, ecological intelligence can be interpreted to indicate an in-depth understanding, awareness and appreciation of the environment we live in including its living beings. In this essay, I will be exploring the relationship between empathy, compassion, and intelligence, how they relate to ecological intelligence and the role objectivity plays in it.
Bruno Latour in his essay Agency at the Time of the Anthropocene, explicitly discards the possibility of objectivity stating that “there is no distant place anymore. And along with distance, objectivity is gone as well, or at least an older notion of objectivity that was unable to take into account the active subject of history.” (Latour 2) If objectivity is truly absent, the question arises as to whether we, humans, can ever truly see the world we live in without bias and do what needs to be done to protect it. If we are to believe Latour, are we also to believe that objectivity did exist at one point in the history of our geostory?
Latour believes that “[…] the Earth is no longer “objective”; it cannot be put at a distance and emptied of all its humans. Human action is visible everywhere- in the construction of knowledge as well as in the production of the phenomena those sciences are called to register.” (Latour 5) The Earth is indeed suffering under the hands of humans. All the destruction that scientists are trying valiantly to reverse was caused by humans. Humans are so deeply invested in the destruction and protection of the Earth that we can no longer view it objectively. But if we cannot be objective, can we ever achieve ecological intelligence?
Empathy is essentially the ability to understand the feelings and emotions of another. This is not to be confused with compassion, because as Ursula LeGuin states, they are mutually independent. In Vaster than Empires but More Slow, Tomiko says to Osden- the empath- who has super empathetic capabilities, “If your empathic power really makes you share Ander’s misery, why does it never induce the least compassion in you?” (LeGuin 13) Throughout LeGuin’s short story, it is the empath- who lacks compassion- who is able to view the issue at hand and take necessary steps to solve the problem. It is, after all, Osden who displays the most ecological intelligence of all those involved in the mission. Therefore, it can be interpreted to say that LeGuin believes that it is empathy and not compassion that is necessary for ecological intelligence.
This view is completely opposed to Latour’s as he is of the opinion that compassion is the key to ecological intelligence. Latour uses the tactic of animation, whereby he anthropomorphizes the Earth and its otherwise unanimated components in order to extract empathy and/or compassion, which would motivate humans to be more mindful of their actions and the repercussions they have on our planet.
This anthropomorphizing is implied in lines such as “through this set of constraints, the Earth comprehends, in a way, the point of view of the other bodies since it must reverberate with the events of the whole system” (Latour 6) By assigning an ability to think and make decisions on its own to the Earth or “Gaia” (Latour 3), Latour hopes to reach a wider audience who might be influenced into taking action by this method rather than a more scientific and statistical approach. However, as seen through the classroom discussion that followed, not everyone was influenced by Latour’s anthropomorphizing of the Earth.
Analyzing these two texts it can be seen that LeGuin and Latour both agree on the importance of objectivity in achieving ecological intelligence. However, Latour believes that since objectivity is no longer an option, it is time to move on to compassion. On the other hand, LeGuin implies that objectivity is indeed possible if one’s judgement were not clouded by compassion. This means that Latour’s solution of anthropomorphizing the Earth to extract compassion is actually what is standing in the way of objectivity. Since objectivity is defined as not being influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice (‘objective’) it is clear that one cannot be compassionate and remain objective. However, given that empathy does not necessarily result in compassion, being objective while being empathetic is still a possibility.
Teju Cole, on the other hand, would most probably argue that empathy and compassion both run contrary to intelligence, and that any action stemming from compassion would be detrimental to the environment in the long run. He would prefer action that would yield sustainable results, by effecting change on a larger scale after acquiring a thorough understanding of the issue at hand. It can be assumed that Cole, too, would be in favor of objectivity. In fact, in his article “The White Savior Industrial Complex” he understands the possibility of empathy, but advises against giving into the resulting need for providing short-term solutions.
Regarding ecological intelligence, Latour might dismiss Cole as being deluded by the possibility of objectivity. He would go on to argue that intelligence without compassion would not result in a drive to take action, and that compassion is vital in the creation of a society of humans dedicated to protecting Gaia. LeGuin, on the other hand, would agree with Cole on the importance of objectivity, but would disagree on his stance of not acting on empathy. It would seem that Latour and Cole would approach the topic of ecological intelligence in completely opposite ways, while LeGuin would aim for a middle ground, striving for objectivity created through empathy. In order to provide for Gaia, we should first be able to understand what exactly she needs, and then step away from it and provide for her without bias.
Works Cited
Cole, Teju. "The White-Savior Industrial Complex." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/?single_page=true>.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/objective>.
Latour, Bruno. "Agency at the Time of the Anthropocene." New Literary History 45, 1 (Winter 2014): 1-18.
LeGuin, Ursula K. "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow." The Wind's Twelve Quarters. N.p.: n.p., 1975. N. pag. Print.