Retelling the story of humans and nature | Damon Gameau | TEDxSydney
Summary
TLDRThis talk explores the impact of collective stories on human behavior, focusing on the narrative that humans are separate and superior to nature. It traces the origins of this belief from early cultures to Christianity and the Scientific Revolution, which led to the exploitation of natural resources. The speaker argues that this story has brought humanity to a crisis point, necessitating a new narrative that recognizes our interconnectedness with nature. This regenerative story, supported by science, could reshape culture, leadership, and policy, potentially leading to a sustainable future.
Takeaways
- 🌟 The power of personal narratives: Our internal dialogues significantly influence our actions and experiences.
- 🌐 Collective stories shape societal behavior: Cultural narratives, like the sacredness of cows in India, guide group actions.
- 🔄 Historical shift in worldview: From a reverence for nature to a belief in human superiority and dominion over it.
- ⛪️ The influence of Christianity and the Scientific Revolution: These movements contributed to the narrative of human dominance over nature.
- 🌱 Indigenous wisdom vs. modern exploitation: Indigenous cultures often saw themselves as part of nature, contrasting with exploitative modern practices.
- 🏭 The commodification of nature: The shift to viewing nature as a resource for economic gain led to environmental degradation.
- 🔍 The role of science: Initially used to justify exploitation, science now reveals the intricate interconnectedness of life and the need for respect for nature.
- 🌿 The emergence of a regenerative story: A new narrative is forming, emphasizing humanity's dependence on and kinship with nature.
- 🌳 The importance of storytelling: To effect change, the new narrative must be integrated into education, economics, and media.
- 🌈 The potential for a thriving future: Collective action informed by the new narrative can lead to a regenerative and ecologically balanced world.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the speech?
-The main theme of the speech is the collective story that humans are separate and superior to nature, and how this narrative has led to environmental degradation. The speaker advocates for a new story that recognizes humans as part of nature and promotes a regenerative relationship with the environment.
How does the speaker describe the initial relationship between humans and nature in the past?
-The speaker describes an initial relationship where humans had a deep reverence and respect for nature, seeing little separation between themselves and the world around them. Many cultures viewed nature as a giving parent and considered plants and animals as relatives.
What significant change in the human-nature relationship is attributed to the rise of Christianity according to the speech?
-The rise of Christianity introduced a new narrative where humans were seen as separate from and superior to nature, with dominion over the Earth. This shift in belief system began to change the way humans interacted with and perceived their environment.
How did the Scientific Revolution further influence the human-nature relationship?
-The Scientific Revolution, led by figures like Francis Bacon and René Descartes, reinforced the idea of humans being superior to nature. They encouraged the exploitation and manipulation of nature for human benefit, viewing it as a machine to be controlled and used.
What are some of the environmental consequences mentioned in the speech that resulted from the 'new story'?
-The environmental consequences mentioned include the decrease in animal populations, heating of the atmosphere, soil erosion, and the destruction of natural habitats like the Amazon rainforest.
What role do stories play in shaping our behaviors and cultures according to the speaker?
-Stories, both individual and collective, play a fundamental role in shaping our behaviors and cultures. They influence how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world, and can drive our actions and societal norms.
What is the 'new but old story' that the speaker suggests we need to adopt?
-The 'new but old story' is a narrative that recognizes humans as an integral part of nature, not separate or superior to it. It calls for a regenerative relationship with the environment, valuing and respecting nature, and living in harmony with it.
How does the speaker propose to spread the new story?
-The speaker suggests embedding the new story into all levels of education, redesigning the economy to value nature, revamping news broadcasts to include environmental metrics, and amplifying the story through the work of storytellers, musicians, and artists.
What evidence does the speaker provide to support the idea that nature is not mechanistic and should be revered?
-The speaker cites scientific discoveries that reveal plants can see, smell, hear, learn, and store memories; dolphins communicate in local dialects; elephants hold ceremonies for their dead; and termites have built an underground metropolis. These examples show the complexity and interconnectedness of nature.
What is the significance of the changes in the use of nature-related words in books, songs, and movies from 1900 to 2014 as mentioned in the speech?
-The decline in the use of nature-related words signifies a cultural shift away from valuing and connecting with nature. This reflects the influence of the collective story that has led to environmental neglect and the prioritization of human activities over nature.
How does the speaker describe the current state of human interaction with nature?
-The speaker describes the current state as one where humans are trapped in a cultural programming that views nature as something to be exploited for economic gain, leading to environmental destruction and a lack of awareness of the true value of nature.
Outlines
🌿 The Power of Stories in Shaping Our Worldview
The speaker begins by sharing an introspective moment before taking the stage, highlighting the internal dialogue between self-doubt and gratitude. This introspection segues into a broader discussion on the role of personal and collective stories in shaping our behaviors and interactions with the world. The speaker emphasizes how these narratives, whether individual or collective, significantly influence our perceptions and actions. The paragraph sets the stage for a deeper exploration of a collective story that has led humanity to perceive itself as separate and superior to nature, a narrative that has brought us to the brink of environmental crisis.
🌍 The Historical Shift from Reverence to Domination
This paragraph delves into the historical transformation of humanity's relationship with nature. It starts by recounting a time when people revered nature as a nurturing parent, with cultures like indigenous Australians and ancient Chinese viewing themselves as part of the natural world. However, the advent of Christianity and the Scientific Revolution introduced a new narrative that positioned humans as superior to and separate from nature, with a divine mandate to dominate and exploit it. This shift led to the commodification of nature, with significant environmental consequences. The speaker critiques the deeply ingrained belief in human superiority and its impact on ecological degradation, setting the context for the need for a new story.
🌱 The Emergence of a Regenerative Narrative
The final paragraph discusses a potential shift towards a regenerative narrative that recognizes the interdependence of humans and nature. It highlights the awakening of societal segments, such as children, farmers, and indigenous peoples, who are advocating for a change in the collective story. The speaker points out that scientific discoveries have revealed the intricate connections and intelligence within nature, challenging the mechanistic view that has underpinned exploitation. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for a cultural and systemic transformation, emphasizing the need for a new story to be integrated into education, economics, media, and policy-making. It ends on a hopeful note, envisioning a future where humanity embraces its kinship with nature and works towards a thriving, ecological future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Collective story
💡Cultural programming
💡Dominion over nature
💡Scientific Revolution
💡Environmental crisis
💡Regenerative story
💡Nature as kin
💡Cultural shift
💡Ecological damage
💡Sustainable future
💡Storytellers
Highlights
The power of internal narratives in shaping our experiences and behaviors.
The role of collective stories in influencing societal behaviors and cultural norms.
The historical shift from viewing nature as sacred to a resource for exploitation.
The influence of Christianity and the Scientific Revolution on human-nature relations.
Francis Bacon's view on harnessing nature for human benefit.
René Descartes' perspective on animals as machines for human use.
The commodification of nature and its impact on ecological degradation.
The disconnect between scientific warnings and human actions due to entrenched narratives.
The resistance to change in environmental policies rooted in traditional stories.
The decline in the use of nature-related words in culture indicating a growing alienation from nature.
The emergence of a new regenerative story redefining the human-nature relationship.
The importance of science in supporting the new narrative of humans as part of nature.
The revelation of nature's complexity and sentience challenging the mechanistic view.
The need for a cultural shift to see nature not as a commodity but as kin.
The potential for a new story to be integrated into education, economy, and media.
The role of storytellers, artists, and musicians in amplifying the new narrative.
The vision of a future where humanity embraces a regenerative relationship with nature.
Transcripts
[Music]
foreign
a few moments ago before I walked on
stage I was aware that there was this
story playing out in my head
it was actually a dance between two
stories
one story was noticing the size of this
audience and the cameras that are around
and was telling me that now would not be
a good time to trip over a shoelace or
forget new lines
and the other story in my head was
telling me to be grateful for this
opportunity go out relish the experience
and have fun
I was aware that whichever story took
hold
might impact the next 12 minutes of my
life and determine how this talk unfolds
therapists and psychologists tell us
that the stories we tell ourselves play
a fundamental role in how we interact
with the world around us
some people tell themselves that they
are not enough
other people tell themselves that
they're imposters
and if you've ever seen the auditions of
a television singing competition some
people tell themselves they're a little
better than they actually are
but apart from the individual Stories We
Tell ourselves all of us are also taking
part in larger Collective stories that
shape our Behavior as a species
a collective story enables people in
India to treat Cows as sacred
while people in America cram cows into
feedlots
our internal and external worlds are
full of stories that shape our behaviors
today I want to talk about a collective
story that most people aren't even aware
they're inhabiting
it is a collective story that tells us
that human beings are separate and
Superior to Nature
it is a story that has taken us so close
to the brink of an unimaginable crisis
that our survival now depends on us
telling a news story
so
Once Upon a Time
in a land far away
and right here actually on the lands
that we're gathered today
the majority of people on planet Earth
had a deep reverence and respect for
nature
they saw very little separation between
themselves and the world around them
many cultures saw nature as a giving
parent the plants and the animals were
their relatives
indigenous Australians saw themselves as
custodians of the land
well the ancient Chinese considered
themselves reverent guests of nature
even prominent figures of Rome like Ovid
and Seneca argued that mining shouldn't
be permissible as it was too abusive to
the natural world
but then things started to change
a new craze called Christianity began to
take hold
word spread that their one God sat above
and outside nature
that God had made people in his own
image and given them dominion over the
Earth
it sounds alright so the people passing
on the news to friends and relatives
missionaries Kings
the world was made for the sake of man
that it may serve him
said the bishop of Paris in the early
12th century
the Christian craze are now infiltrated
Europe and was beginning its March into
the Americans
but wait
there's more
said a couple of fancy looking men in
the early 1600s
I told the people that they were from
the Scientific Revolution and that they
could empower the people even further
we must Hound nature in her wanderings
said the first man Francis Bacon the
father of modern science
we must find a way at length into her
inner Chambers
we must reveal the secret still locked
in Nature's bosom
make her your slave subdue her shake her
to her foundations
yes said the men that sounds all right
the second man in chandin
his name was Renee descar the father of
modern philosophy
he confirmed to the people that yes they
were Superior to Nature
and added that animal s were mindless
machines to be mastered and exploited at
will
that's a relief said the people
now we don't have to feel so bad about
whipping our Oxford
the influence of these two men coupled
with the religious craves meant that
nature was no longer seen as a living
thing to be revered and respected
but instead as a machine to be
manipulated for the benefits of mankind
this was a new and exciting story that
set free natural resources for humans to
achieve social and economic progress
even if obtained through violent and
suppressive acts
this new story was particularly enticing
for the emerging capitalists of the time
because a nature devoid of reverence and
respect
was much easier to commodify
and can modify they did
the humans went to work entering and
penetrating all of those inner Chambers
they tunneled her bosom for coal and
metals they scraped and plowed at her
skin with their tractors
they took chainsaws to her forests of
follicles and they filled her Waters
with their waste
the new story had spread across the
globe
humans had asserted their dominance they
built wondrous things and improved the
lives of billions of people
particularly in specific regions
until one day
their scientists begin to notice
her animals are decreasing
her atmosphere is Heating
for soils are eroding
our research is foreboding
but still the humans carried on
you see they couldn't hear the
scientists
because the facts don't matter much if
they don't fit the story
and a story was deeply embedded now
in 2019 the head of the Environmental
Protection Agency in the U.S opposes
regulations because he says we have a
responsibility to harvest the natural
resources that we've been blessed with
a prominent evangelist tells his
followers that refusing to use fossil
fuels hurts God's feelings
the story was so embedded that the
human's Nightly News bulletins measured
their success by Financial metrics alone
while the living world that allowed the
gains in those metrics was being
eviscerated out of sight
and the story was so embedded that when
researchers looked at the names of trees
birds flowers and other key words
relating to Nature used across millions
of books songs and movies from 1900 to
2014
they found a dramatic decline in the use
of those words across that period
the humans were spending seven hours a
day on their screens
so not only were they experiencing fewer
stories
and actual experiences of nature
but they were being bombarded by up to
10 000 advertisements a day
largely for products that were
inflicting even more ecological damage
nature was being hounded in her
wanderings
and yet the humans remain trapped in
their story
trapped in their cultural programming
but goldfish in a tank
unaware of the unfolding chaos beyond
the colored Pebbles and the artificial
logs
so when those same scientists resorted
to blocking traffic
and tying themselves to poles or
screaming at the Amazon rainforest the
most spectacular of all her forests was
nearing a Tipping Point that would turn
her into a savannah
still the humans did nothing
because to them those trees
those trees that were home to thousands
of species of animals and millions of
species of insects
those trees that sent nutrients to each
other via underground fungal Networks
those trees that transpired moisture
into the air to create rainfall that
would feed crops in countries thousands
of kilometers away
those trees were just
timber for decking
pulp for toilet paper
or space for more cows
those trees were worth more dead than
alive
because that's what the story had told
them
but then something remarkable happened
it started with the children
who began to skip school and take to the
streets
it started with the farmers who chose to
stop fighting nature and instead rebuild
their soils
it started when the indigenous people
who for centuries have been reminding
everybody of their story were finally
being listened to
and it started with nature herself
through fires and storms through
droughts and Rising Waters forced her
way back into the people's lives and
demanded their respect
a new regenerative story about human
beings and nature was emerging
but of course it wasn't a news story at
all
it was the retelling of an old story
but this time
the old story was supported by the
science
and it was telling the people that every
breath they took was dependent on trees
and phytoplankton
and the trillions of bacteria and fungi
lived on them and in them and kept them
alive
viewing the natural world as separate to
humans was now empirically false
humans are nature
but the science was also telling them
that plants could see
they could smell hear
they could learn and store memories
the Dolphins gossiped and spoke in local
dialects elephants held Ceremonies for
dead relatives grasshoppers could turn
into locusts and back again in a matter
of hours
and that termites had built an
underground Metropolis the size of the
United Kingdom
the same scientific inquiry that had led
to domination and extraction had gone so
deep into Nature's bosom that it was
revealing our secrets
and her secrets were divulging that she
was anything but mechanistic
that she was deserving of the utmost
reverence and respect
and that the original story
had been right all along
and so perhaps now the humans would no
longer refer to Nature as a unruly
female To Be Tamed for an it to be
exploited
but would refer to Nature simply
as kin
nobody knows how this new but old story
ends
because it is still being written
but if it is to have the Hollywood
ending
if we are to break free from our
cultural programming and pull off the
miraculous comeback when all scenes lost
then the new but old story will have to
be rapidly spread throughout the culture
it will need to be embedded into all
levels of curriculum particularly at the
early stages so children can see the
world as a living system not as a
machine full of stocks and commodities
it will need to inform a redesign of the
economy
so it values nature
and reflects the true environmental
costs of the materials we all use
it will need to revamp the Nightly News
bulletins so we measure soil Health
atmospheric pollution species loss
alongside the financial metrics
and crucially
the new but old story will need to be
Amplified by the storytellers
the musicians the artists
those that can create the emotional
connection to the Living World once
again and paint visions of a
nature-filled future that people can see
and feel and strive for
because stories shape culture
culture shapes leaders
leaders shape policies and policies
shape the system
and perhaps
just perhaps one day
a few hundred years from now
historians will look back to this moment
and they'll see that amongst the chaos
and the nihilism and the fear and the
extinctions that there were groups of
people who chose to turn the page and
begin to write a new chapter for
Humanity
a chapter full of diverse characters
from a range of professions and places
who came together
to create a thriving
regenerative
ecological future
the end
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
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