December 6, 2014 - 20:59
When speaking of intelligence, there is no singular category. Intelligence, in it of itself, is not defined by a finite application. It is not an object to be held but a capacity to be attained. The ability to reason, relate, learn and understand is what dictates intelligence. To apply this idea of intelligence to the world around us, we would be reforming the way we think about the world around us. Thinking of the world as something to be reasoned, related, learned and understood would be to give the world an agency and complexity not yet fully realized by man before. This gift of agency by man is a revelation of understanding that is key to a new kind intelligence that is all too necessary for our environment, an ecological intelligence. Explained in importance by Bowers, relation by LeGuin, and social application by Van Jones, ecological intelligence is not only novel in its being but in the way it calls for us to think about our way of being on this planet.
Over the course of this class, it has been discussed whether we are a part of the earth and nature or an aberration from it. I believe that there could be made a case made for both sides. Like a rebellious adolescent, we have all that we are because of what is given of the earth but act in a way that separates ourselves from the nurture of our life giver. We are from the spoils of the earth but make a point to modify ourselves away from this natural way of being. This teenage-like behavior was not always the nature of man. There was once a time when nature was not simply taken into account but guided the direction of the action. It was this recognition of the environment that Bowers seeks to recover and foster in everyday life. “…[E]cological intelligence takes account of relationships, contexts, as well as the impacts of ideas and behaviors on other members in the cultural and natural systems,” (Bowers, 45). Though humans are seen as intelligent beings, this call for an in depth awareness of ourselves and others is the most novel part of ecological intelligence for our society. It requires a kind of vulnerability that is not common, convenient or complacent, three pillars of foundation in how we determine our actions today. Over throwing these three ideals is what makes Bowers push for ecological intelligence so profound. His call is not only to gain capacity but in revealing our faults. This call of self-reflection is not one that will be answered easily or swiftly, but one which will ring until it is answered or left to echo in the aftermath of a dire outcome.
It would seem, when we talk of how we interact with the world that we are talking about interpersonal relationships. We think believe ourselves to be personifying nature when we say we cause harm, with a sense of feeling. The idea that the world truly feels the pain we cause is not conceivable in our ecologically illiterate minds but a matter of fact to those that are ecologically intelligent. LeGuin speaks to this investigation. She writes of Osden’s experience in the forest, his ability to feel the fear of the forest, but also writes of a human reaction to being able to sense the emotions of all those around them.
‘He’s sabotaged the mission by making us quarrel, and now he’s going to drive us
all of us insane by projecting fear at us so that we can’t sleep or think, like a huge
radio that doesn’t make any sound, but broadcast all the time…’ (Leguin, 168)
Rather than challenge the motivation behind the fear, a member of the team of investigation challenges the one forced to feel the fear. This innate inhibition against emotion is sourced back to our lack of understanding of ourselves. Our lack of self-awareness in the depth of our own emotions and pains keeps us from being able to relate to the earth and its emotions and pain. Unlike Osden, we are unable to sense what lies beneath the smiles and blooming flowers. Much like the fellow scientists of LeGuin’s tale, we are much more adept to the concealment of our inner sentiments and ignoring the abyss of fervor in all those around us, the environment included.
Nature does not deserve the brunt of our apathy nor is it alone in its struggle to gain recognition. When we look to our society today, we see cries for care in the eyes of people forgotten and the skies of a world deteriorating. We find ourselves superficially thinking of the environmental problem as one only for those with the time and money to install solar panels and buy electric cars. Though it seems that only those of a high socioeconomic class are able to be activists for the environment, it is true that we are all victims of the crimes committed against nature. Interviewed by Elizabeth Kolbert, Van Jones makes a point to remind us that everyone has their own sense of agency and a right to use it. “’Your goal has to be to get the greenest solutions to the poorest people…That’s the only goal that’s morally compelling enough to generate enough energy to pull this transition off,’” (Kolbert, 2). He compels his listeners to acknowledge the capability of their fellow man and provide the tools for change. Our issue with relation is visible in our interactions with those of low economic means and education. This incapacity is inherent in our treatment of the world around us. Our environmental predicament is a reflection of our social problem and a light unto an internal dilemma. More than just an external entity, the environment is a reflector of our innermost personal traumas.
Of all the intelligences of the world, ecological is the most in need. Bowers is quick to exemplify the world’s need to be understood. He reminds us that our planet is not a rock to be lived on but a living organism to be cared for. LeGuin writes of the importance of being vulnerable to one’s own emotions and being able to relate to the environment and others through this knowledge. Van Jones describes a way in which we can learn about the world and the many people that live it. He breaks down the wall that separates caring for the nature of the world and the people in the world. All three authors call us to learn and evolve, to not simple be but to be aware. Our environment cries out in pain and waits for us to reason, relate, learn and understand.