I had wanted to join for a long time. At first, though, it was simply because I thought the organization’s name was badly chosen, and figured that if I didn’t join, so be it; then I thought about it again and realized there was nothing I could do about it anyway—if it were up to me, I wouldn’t be able to come up with a better name either. Later I found remitting payment troublesome, but recently I’ve often been ordering books by mail from Kongfuzi, and I’ve come to feel that remitting money isn’t all that troublesome after all. In the end, I was put off by the trouble of writing an application; it wasn’t until today, on a sudden whim, that I jotted something down. It’s a bit messy, and I’ve written in all my dissatisfaction with the name. They shouldn’t reject my application, should they…… In short, lately I’ve kept wanting to find some pleasant and fulfilling activities to do, to enrich my life outside class. Lying in bed all day reading books and watching animation is harmful to one’s health, sigh…… Find something to do……
11467?
Personal information omitted
“Even if 99% of the universe is filled with darkness, when I look up at the night sky, what remains in my eyes is still that brilliant starry firmament! — Treat good and beauty with gratitude; embrace evil and ugliness with tolerance — this world is actually really wonderful……”
This is my so-called philosophy of the starry sky: the universe is filled with darkness, society is filled with ugliness, life is filled with suffering…… Yet, just as the starry sky remains brilliant, goodness and truth do not need to occupy the majority in order to shine forth in beauty. Ugliness sets off beauty; in a certain sense, ugliness too becomes part of beauty. The whole world is beautiful.
The deep night sky has always brought people inspiration; it has always been able to arouse awe or moved感动 from the heart.
However, ironically, that is only the starry sky in my dreams. I, the author, have never seen a truly “brilliant starry sky.” Born in Shanghai, urban light pollution and turbid air long ago turned seeing the stars into an impossible luxury. In Beijing, conditions are much better than in Shanghai, but the stars in the sky are still few enough to count on one’s fingers.
The metropolis is one of the symbols of modern human civilization. Looking at these forests of skyscrapers and the flow of traffic, one sometimes cannot help but marvel at humanity’s greatness. But cities also bring other things: bewilderment, loneliness, indifference in the human heart…… The relationship between people and nature has grown distant. Those born in a concrete jungle can go through life without ever touching the real “earth” at all; even the most soul-shaking sight in the natural world—the starry sky—people have no chance to see! This has to be said to be a tremendous sorrow.
I by no means hate modern civilization, and I certainly do not hate human wisdom, because human wisdom and the human civilization created by it are also products of nature. Moreover, human wisdom, as part of nature, occupies a special position—we should not be reluctant to speak of our special status. Just as plants and microorganisms do not play identical roles in nature, humans too play a special role, and cannot be equated with any other kind of animal.
What, then, is this special role? The “biological observer” Lewis Thomas says, “Our role is the nervous system of the entire organism.” (The Lives of a Cell, p. 89) The proponent of “Gaia,” Lovelock, believes that “because man is the only member of this community with moral consciousness, the brain cells of Gaia, they possess a unique ability, namely the ability to regulate the self in a way compatible with the enduring happiness of the Earth to which they belong.” (The Rights of Nature, p. 190)
To regard humankind as the “brain cells” or “nervous system” of nature, to some extent, implies that humans have the power actively to control nature’s “body.” This is indeed the case, but that is not the point—the true value of human beings lies not in their forceful power to control nature, but in the uniquely human ability to “think,” “feel,” and “appreciate” nature. Yet now, as the “nervous system,” humanity seems to have become too numb, to the point that when nature is harmed, it cannot in time feel the pain that ought to be felt,
What I advocate is “thinking like Gaia,” regarding human beings as Gaia’s organ of thought; this is different from the claim that “nature is the human body”—note that this sentence differs in meaning from “human beings are nature’s brain,” because the former reverses the relation of subordination: just as saying “my brain” is no problem, while saying “the me of the brain” is utterly baffling. “I” am a whole; even if the organ responsible for thinking is the brain, when people speak of “I,” they never identify with the brain. People will say “the hand is ‘my’ limb,” not “the hand is the ‘brain’s’ limb.” When we say “human beings are part of nature,” then, as deep ecology or traditional Chinese philosophy would put it, “I” has expanded into the whole of nature.
It is not as some people criticize: that viewing humans and nature as one will lead us to overlook differences and conflicts among concrete things. The attitude of treating humans and nature as a whole “great self” will not lead to a simple confusion of humans with humans, humans with natural things, or natural things with natural things—just as when I regard my hands and feet as parts of the whole body, that does not make it impossible to tell which part should wear gloves and which part should wear socks.
As for whether the flesh in the palm is more important or the flesh on the back of the hand is more important, or whether the heart, lungs, or brain is more important, such gradations of value can be discerned slowly, and can be discerned in concrete issues. The key is that once we first establish this notion of being one with heaven and earth, our attitude toward nature will change. We will do our utmost to cherish and treat nature kindly, just as we do our own bodies. More than that, on the one hand we will not despair of ourselves or hate ourselves; on the other hand, we will admire nature and sing its praises.
Back to my philosophy of the starry sky—granted, human beings have many ugly and filthy aspects, and the natural world too is full of the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest, and so on. But nature as a whole should not be divided into good parts and bad parts, beautiful parts and ugly parts, and so forth; just as the brilliant starry sky should not be split into light and darkness, then have the bright part praised and the dark part hated. But if there were no darkness, a sheet of white light would no longer be a brilliant starry sky. What deserves praise is the starry sky itself; likewise, what deserves praise and celebration is “nature” itself—only one nature.
From a holistic perspective, to be honest, the name “Friends of Nature” is not well chosen. A “friend” is at least two people; to say that nature and I are “friends” means that nature is, for me, an “other,” and not only that, but one with whom I am on equal terms. Yet that is hardly surprising: when in contemporary society humanity’s “status” is generally regarded as transcending nature, the perspective of equality between humans and nature is already rare and precious. But human beings are children of nature—when did they become their mother’s friend?
Even using the relationship of “mother and child” as an analogy still implies that nature is an “other,” as if humans could exist independently from nature. That is obviously wrong. If humans are children of nature, then they are also infants who can never leave their mother’s womb. This is even better: before the umbilical cord has even been cut, we are already calling nature mother our friend!
Human beings can, and should, be friends of animals, friends of plants, and so on, but “nature” is not “the sum of natural things.” Still, “Friends of Nature” can be understood as treating everything in the natural world with a friend’s heart, and that is a very good attitude. According to environmental ethics, to “speak ethics” toward nature is precisely to demand an “extension” of ethical care. Care for nature is precisely an extension of the feelings of filial piety and fraternal affection, friendship, and so on that exist between people. To view the natural world with the affection of co-existence and mutual prosperity is a precious perspective.
At the same time, “Friends of Nature” may also be understood this way: comrades who likewise love nature deeply, comrades who likewise devote themselves to environmental protection, getting to know one another through this organization. All people with shared interests and ideals are “friends,” are all “friends of nature”—and this is exactly the main reason I hope to join this organization: not because I want to become a friend of “nature,” but because I want to become a friend of all the people in this group who love nature deeply and are enthusiastic about environmental protection.
As a second-year undergraduate, I have not yet had the chance to do work related to environmental protection. The first time I heard of “Friends of Nature” was probably when I was taking Teacher Su Xiangui’s course on “Environmental Ethics,” but whether I learned of “Friends of Nature” from Teacher Su or from books by Teacher Liu Huajie or Teacher Liu Bing, I can no longer remember. As a student majoring in philosophy of science and technology, the contributions I may be able to make to environmental protection in the future will probably mainly be theoretical. On the one hand, reflection on technology and criticism of scientism; on the other hand, the reconstruction of “natural philosophy” and the revalidation of religious emotion; on yet another hand, pioneering work in fields such as environmental ethics and ecological philosophy. I believe these are all meaningful tasks.
Of course, I also hope to be able to take part personally in some practical environmental activities, because promoting environmental protection is something that brings a sense of pleasure and fulfillment. I hope “Friends of Nature” can provide me with such opportunities. As a student currently in school, my abilities are very limited, and I do not have all that much time or energy outside class, so I may not participate very actively in the activities of Friends of Nature. But I will choose volunteer activities suited to me, “with sincerity and with action.”
June 30, 2006
Plato Café
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2010 addendum: I can now often receive their activity notices, yet I have never received any notice about being admitted as a member. Of course, I won’t be going to take part in the activities.
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Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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