Table of contents for November 2016 in New Philosopher

“Contact with nature... is critical to the personal development of our children.”David Attenborough Of the myriad challenges we face, there is little doubt that the most urgent issue of our time is the destruction of Nature. What use are our gadgets if future generations can’t drink the water? What is the point of advances in medicine if the air is unfit to breathe? We are, in no uncertain terms, at war with the only planet we have. And unless we change tack swiftly, our descendants are certain to judge our actions – and our inaction – harshly. It is obvious we have a problem; acknowledging this is a start. The question is whether we’re willing to change our combative relationship with Nature – whether we’re prepared to make radical changes…

Most of the Earth’s warming since 1880 has occurred since the 1970s, with 15 of the 16 warmest years occurring since the year 2000. The world has already lost 80 per cent of its forests and we’re continually losing them at a rate of 375 km2 per day. Global sea levels rose about 17 centimetres (6.7 inches) in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century. Mostly comprised of plastics, we have a garbage island floating in our oceans the size of India, Europe, and Mexico combined. The waste from cities alone is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks 5,000 kilometres long every day. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has…

1936: THYLACINUS CYNOCEPHALUS Once found in New Guinea and Australia, the Thylacinus cynocephalus (Tasmanian Tiger) was encountered by Lieutenant Governor William Paterson on 21st April 1805. Despite some evidence of wild Tasmanian Tigers in the late 1930s, it is believed that the last known Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity at Beaumaris Zoo, Hobart, on September 7, 1936. Causes: habitat destruction, fur trade 2011: MELOMYS RUBICOLA A species of rodent, the Melomys rubicola (Bramble Cay Melomys) belonged to the Muridae family and was found only on Bramble Cay, Australia. In December 1978 it was estimated that there were several hundred Bramble Cay Melomys. A survey in 2011 “failed to record any Bramble Cay Melomys”. A targeted survey in March 2014 confirmed this. Causes: rising sea levels, inbreeding 2004: BUFO PERIGLENES First…

SALAKESH ANANDA TOP FIVE BOOKS 1. The Dimensional Structure of Consciousness Samuel Avery 2. The Dancing Wu Li Masters Gary Zukav 3. The Physics of Consciousness Evan Harris Walker 4. Autobiography of a Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda 5. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig FAVOURITE PHILOSOPHER: Ervin László FAVOURITE QUOTE: Truly my favourite and my own: “We are not spiritual beings experiencing a physical reality. Rather, we are spiritual beings experiencing a spiritual reality that appears to be physical.” DOCUMENTARY TO RECOMMEND: The Saltmen of Tibet FAVOURITE ARTWORK: Vishnu Dasa: The All-Attractive Couple FAVOURITE PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC: Telemann: Concerto in D Major. What is philosophy for you? A means to explain what already exists; yet we do not know it. Why is philosophy important? Philosophy assists…

Jane Goodall , PhD, DBE began her landmark study of chimpanzee behaviour in what is now Tanzania. In 1977 Dr Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognised for innovative, community-centred conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program. Dr Goodall’s honours include the French Legion of Honour, the Medal of Tanzania, and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize. In 2002, Dr Goodall was appointed to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and in 2003, she was named a Dame of the British Empire. Zan Boag: Your life’s work has revolved around the understanding…

noun 1. The phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations; 2. The physical force regarded as causing and regulating the phenomena of the world; 3. The basic or inherent features, character, or qualities of something; 4. The innate or essential qualities or character of a person or animal; 5. Inborn or hereditary characteristics as an influence on or determinant of personality. Often contrasted with nurture; 6. A person of a specified character. Origin: Middle English (denoting the physical power of a person): from Old French, from Latin natura ‘birth, nature, quality’, from nat-‘born’, from the verb nasci. Source: Oxford English Dictionary…

News in our Anthropocene age is getting increasingly more terrifying: we’ve now reached temperatures that are 1°C hotter than pre-industrial times, each year that passes is one of the hottest on record, and Arctic ice is shrinking at an unprecedented rate. We hear of rising sea levels and catastrophic coral dying at the Great Barrier Reef, while floods, droughts, and forest fires seem to have become daily occurrences. We’ve wrecked much of our planet – which is all the more shocking because already more than 150 years ago, Alexander von Humboldt warned that “the restless activity of large communities of men gradually despoil the face of the Earth”. As early as 1800, Humboldt talked about harmful human–induced climate change. He was the most celebrated scientist of his age but he…

As young adults, our group of friends would often talk passionately about how important it is to ensure that we protect the natural world – and the creatures living in it – for future generations. With the passing of the years, while many of our group of friends still profess these same beliefs, their actions run counter to their words. They talk of the threat of global warming, yet have a large carbon footprint. They worry about ecological damage caused by large companies, yet have investments – directly and indirectly – in companies that cause this damage. How important is it for our words and our actions to be in sync? How can I get them to see this without calling them hypocrites? And do I have any right to…

Arctic Dreams Barry Lopez The mystery of life Out there are whales – I have seen six or eight grey whales as I walked this evening. And the ice, pale as the dove-coloured sky. The wind raises the surface of the water. Wake of a seal in the shore lead, gone now. I bowed. I bowed to what knows no deliberating legislature or parliament, no religion, no competing theories of economics, an expression of allegiance with the mystery of life. Being a Beast Charles Foster Species boundaries I am a human. At least in the sense that both of my parents were human. This has certain consequences. I cannot, for instance, make children with a fox. I have to come to terms with that. But species boundaries are, if not…

Reading animals’ minds Reading other human minds is hard enough, but what of other animals – of the non-human kind? No conclusion is in sight but the recent antics of Englishman Charles Foster in his mission to become a beast has helped refocus an ancient conundrum. Joe Gelonesi chats to Charles Foster and Dr Raymond Yonuis for this edition of The Philosopher’s Zone. abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ philosopherszone/ what-were-they-thinking/7773568 DEVIL’S DICTIONARY MAN, n. An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable Earth and Canada. Emerson’s Nature “Philosophically considered, the universe…

There is no more quintessential sound of summer than the lazy drone of bees, buzzing from flower to flower among the lavender and catmint of an herbaceous border, or among the clovers and vetches in an old hay meadow. But listen carefully; not all buzzes are the same. There is the low, lazy drone of bumblebees, and the slightly higher pitched buzz of honeybees. Pay attention and you’ll also notice the shrill hum and zip of other, smaller insects, all going about their business, moving from flower to flower. If you get down on your hands and knees and look closely, you will soon realise that there are all sorts of different insects visiting the flowers in your garden, drinking the nectar, eating the pollen, and occasionally trying to mate…

A QUICK HEADS-UP In the opposition to trigger warnings, one idea predominates: real life does not offer them. Or, for a slogan: life is triggering. newphilosopher.com/articles/3418/ NEW PHILOSOPHER ONLINE STORE Visit the online store for previous issues of New Philosopher magazine, subscriptions, and other gift ideas. newphilosopher.com/products-page/magazines/ DUMB LUCK AND ENTITLEMENT There’s a certain disappointment – maybe there’s a word for it in German – that comes from realising a quote you like is actually made up. newphilosopher.com/articles/dumb-luck-and-entitlement/ THE AUTODIDACT As any university teacher knows, a passionate autodidact is worth a hundred mediocre students going through the motions of studying. newphilosopher.com/articles/the-autodidact NP Writing Prize Entries are open for the NP Prize for Philosophical Writing. Enter now to win $1,000 and have your work featured in the mag. Up to 1,500…

We are in the midst of a tidal wave of mass extinction. About 100 species go extinct on Earth every day. Conservation biologists are now predicting that up to 50 per cent of currently existing animal and plant species will be eliminated in what has been termed the planet’s sixth mass extinction event – the most destructive event since the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs. What’s causing this incredible loss of biodiversity? In 2000, atmospheric chemist Paul J. Crutzen popularised the idea of the Anthropocene: a new geological age dating back to at least the 1800s, when the industrial revolution inaugurated the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on such a large scale that humanity began to fundamentally reshape the planet’s environment. In Extinction: A Radical History, Professor…

Though they may clash over taxation and consciousness, there is one point of agreement for politicians from the left and the right, and leading scientists and philosophers: human-induced climate change is real. Last year was the hottest year on record, according to data from NASA, eclipsing the record set the previous year. Extending this out to the turn of the millennium, fifteen out of the sixteen hottest years on record have occurred since the year 2000. (Put another way, since 1998 every single year except 1999 has been one of the top sixteen hottest years on record.) And the trend is set to continue: as early as May this year, after several record hottest months in a row, Scientific American reported that there was a 99 per cent chance that…

Zan Boag: You spent four years taking photographs of the area in Tanzania known as the Selous – can you tell me about your time in the reserve? Robert J. Ross: A couple of friends of mine had taken one of the hunting blocks and converted it to photo-gr aphic tourism and I had commissions to write a couple of magazine articles about how it was all working. My plan was to go for ten days and go back to Cape Town and write a couple of magazine stories and move on – even though I’d always wanted to go to the Selous, it’s one of the storied protected areas in Africa. It’s larger than Switzerland and most people don’t know that it’s there. Tanzania’s incredibly famous for…

Earth has lost half of its wild animals in the last forty years. What does it mean to be philosophical about this? The last time there was this much carbon in the atmosphere, humanity didn’t even exist. What should we think or feel about this terrain we’re entering: the prospect that future generations may see those born in the late 20th century as the last humans to know ecological innocence? These are grim questions – and I can feel my mind sliding away from them even as I type. It’s much more fun to check social media, to water those drooping sunflowers in my garden, to put out some food for the birds, to seek refuge in the daily scale of domesticity. But still the questions wait. Between writing this…

Towards the end of his life Jean-Jacques Rousseau found some solace in long solitary walks in the French countryside. We know this because two notebooks in which he recorded his thoughts and feelings on these walks were among his possessions when he died in 1778. He carried old playing cards when he went out, and jotted down what he felt and thought on the back of them, writing these notes up later. The last entry was made a few weeks before his death. These notebooks became the posthumous book, the poetic Reveries of a Solitary Walker, a book that should be better known. Rousseau had paranoid tendencies, and these had been amplified in later years by the fact that many people were indeed out to get him – his books…

“I am moved by strange sympathies, I say continually: I will be a naturalist.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “For my part, I want to lose myself in nature, and grow again with her, like her.” Paul Cezanne “Nature dissolves all things into their atoms; things can’t die back down to nothing.” Lucretius “The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic.” Aleksei Leonov, cosmonaut “Man must go back to nature for information.” Thomas Paine “I love not man the less, but Nature more.” Lord Byron “Nature loves to hide.” Heraclitus “Our imagination is struck only by what is great; but the lover of natural philosophy should reflect equally on little things.” Alexander von Humboldt “An orchid does not lose its…

There are millions of clown loaches living in homes and offices around the world. Yet nobody knows where any of them were born. Locals in Borneo and Sumatra catch them in bamboo tubes, and ship some fifty million a year to the aquarium trade worldwide. Nobody, to this day, knows precisely where their spawning grounds are. The instinct that makes clown loaches hide in the bamboo is also how Lucky came to be with us: he stowed away inside a piece of driftwood we bought for our tank. Aquaria, for all their familiar everydayness, are very strange things. Most other pets domesticate us as much as we domesticate them. The dog curled in front of the fire shares our space, makes it her own. (To fall asleep, as Levinas said,…

Dale Jamieson is Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy, Affiliated Professor of Law, Affiliated Professor of Bioethics, and Chair of the Environmental Studies Department at New York University. Jamieson is the author of Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle to Stop Climate Change Failed ; Ethics and the Environment ; and Morality’s Progress . He is also the editor or co-editor of nine books and has published more than one hundred articles and book chapters. He is on the editorial boards of several journals including Environmental Humanities , Environmental Ethics , and The Journal of Applied Philosophy . Nigel Warburton: Can you begin by saying something about what you…

Insurance agencies liken natural disasters as acts of God, but to the observer on the ground they resemble acts of war: internecine battles between nature and man, the environment and the economy. Think of the bushfires that ravage south-east Australia each year, or the hurricanes that stalk the Caribbean. When I think of these battles, I’m reminded of an image described by the writer Emily Witt in The London Review of Books of a solitary beacon among the havoc of Hurricane Sandy: “the lights at Goldman Sachs headquarters in the waterlogged financial district burned alone through the night, powered by some sort of off-grid generator that was too big to fail.” What else, if not Big Money, can withstand the might of Mother Nature? These trade-offs aren’t a zero-sum game,…

What do you doubt most? That evolution and the only life in the universe will survive. If you could change one thing about the world, what would that be? Abolish nuclear weapons, create all electricity from renewables, and close down ASAP all nuclear reactors. What does ‘nature’ mean to you? Nature is my religion, I am a Pantheist and worship Nature. What is your demon? My demon is the scientific and medical ignorance of almost all politicians and people in power who are, in essence, deciding the fate of the Earth. What is the most important part of your education? My wonderful and comprehensive medical education, which forms the basis of all my thinking and all that I do. What would you never do, no matter the price? I would…

DBC Pierre DBC Pierre won the Booker Prize for his debut novel Vernon God Little, which was also awarded the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2003 – the first time the two awards had been granted to the same book. Pierre is also the author of Ludmilla’s Broken English, Lights out in Wonderland, a book of short stories, and a novella, Breakfast with the Borgias. He was awarded the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin. Andrea Wulf Andrea Wulf, the 2013 Eccles British Library Writer in Residence, is the author of five books and has written for the Guardian, Sunday Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Her latest book The Invention of Nature was a New York Times bestseller, and has won numerous…

Here’s a question you probably shouldn’t ask yourself unless you’re prepared for an unsettling answer: which problems facing the modern world do you really, truly care about the most, as measured by how emotionally exercised you get, and how willing you are to take action? Somewhere near the top, for me, is the man who illegally parks his dark blue van outside my apartment building almost every week; he reliably renders me furious, and I never fail to make an online complaint. A little lower down the list comes the recent decision by my fellow Brits to leave the European Union; and below that, terrorist atrocities: appalling as they are, they’re so incomprehensible that my main response is bafflement. Below all these comes climate change. Apart from brief flashes of…

I have been doing things that some people think are strange. I dug a hole in a Welsh woodland and lived in it. I crawled around on all fours. I tried to turn myself into a more olfactory creature. I ate pizza out of dustbins in the East End of London, was hunted by a bloodhound, tried to catch fish with my teeth, and climbed trees to map the thermals that suck insects into the sky. I wrote about it. The first line was: “I want to know what it is like to be a wild thing.” That was a woefully misconceived sentence. Because I don’t know anything else. Even my knowledge of (for instance) differential equations is a wild thing’s knowledge of differential equations. I am a wild thing,…

None of what follows is to say I don’t like tigers, or mind sharing a neighbourhood with rats. To pre-empt any confusion over definitions, when I say nature I mean the fluffy one and not the idea of incorporeality, nor any other big ideas from Greece or Germany. Nature: donkey, turkey, algal bloom, hydrogen, figs. Last spring my publisher prepared to release a book of mine. It mobilised a few departments such as editorial, design, publicity, and production. Gearing up to publish a book is a springtime, a rallying towards fruit, and this year’s publishing spring coincided with real spring outside, where certain small flying things emerged in clumps to hover through dusty sunbeams. In my case they were emails. Publishing spring is a season when clumps of people copy…

“I have rarely read anything which has interested me more, though I have not read as yet more than a quarter of the book proper. From quotations which I had seen, I had a high notion of Aristotle’s merits, but I had not the most remote notion what a wonderful man he was. Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle.”Charles Darwin in a letter to William Ogle, referring to Aristotle’s Parts of Animals.…

Why do we find it so difficult to prevent environmental destruction? It cannot be that we don’t love nature: freed from the responsibilities of daily life, most of us opt to holiday in places of natural beauty – beaches, mountains, lakes, and forests. Over two million of us, for example, visit the Great Barrier Reef every year. We know that the reef is home to some 1,500 species of fish – about 10 per cent of all fish species found on Earth, and that stretching over 2,600 kilometres along Australia’s eastern coast, it is the only living thing visible from outer space. We also know that the coral is dying – that 50 per cent of the reef, which has survived and grown for up to 20 million years, has…

The Biologist Rachel Carson 1907-1964 A barrage of poisons “Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song… Sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and homes – non-selective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil – all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a…

Will I get a new name when I grow up – I’ll be a different person so I’ll need a new name, won’t I? Will you be a different person? That’s a tricky question – if you’re a different person when you’re a grown up, are you also a different person when you’re a teenager? What about a different person to when you were a baby? Maybe we need lots of different names! It really depends what it means to be a ‘different person’. If being a different person just means you aren’t the exact same as you are right now, then you’ll definitely be different when you’re a grown up. The problem with that definition is that we’re always changing – cells in our body are born and die…

Extraordinary quality in all respects. New Philosopher is one of the best things happening. I love how the writing reminds me that the types of issues we are grappling with today are similar to those grappled with by philosophers for centuries. I love this magazine. I no longer like reading or listening to mainstream news as it is not good for my health. Your magazine is good for me. It has real discussions that relate to life rather than reporting sensational ‘news’. Thank you. Your magazine is so helpful and is churning up the little grey cells, as Hercule Poirot says. Thank you, this world is brighter, more aware, and more meaningful with your publication in it. Great magazine. Finally one worth reading. Will recommend it to all friends. This…