That Sense of Wonder by Francesco Dimitri

Author:Francesco Dimitri [Dimitri, Francesco]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786699886
Publisher: Head of Zeus

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Grid maps are a consequence of the wider superstition by which nature would be an advanced mechanism that we can disassemble, examine and then put back together. This superstition, a by-product of the Enlightenment, is shared by many atheists and theists alike. They both agree that the universe is like a watch; however, while theists believe this means there must be a watchmaker, atheists believe we can explain every cog and lever without the need for a creator.

But there is a certain arrogance to the belief that the watch, a thing that we ourselves invented not long ago, is a model for everything that exists. Why exactly should the universe be like a watch? Why not like a salmon, or an oak tree, living beings that are part of the universe regardless of us? Why not like a human being?

A mechanistic interpretation of nature is just another useful fiction, and we must learn to step away from it. It is handy to focus at times on the mechanics of the world (grid maps are great at doing what they do), but when we convince ourselves that those mechanics are the world, we lose our way home. In a universe where everything but you is an object, you are like a cranky billionaire living alone in a fortified palace: wealthy, yes, but lonely.

Buying more knick-knacks will not make you feel better. All too often, we humans look at the natural world and see there not family to be loved but a resource to be exploited. The travel industry connives in this by advertising and selling nature as a commodity. We extract oil from the land, and gas, and now we also want wonder on tap.

The expression ‘recharging one’s batteries’ sums it up. It sounds commendable: you take a walk in the woods to regain strength and energy. Your doctor recommends it highly. You will be restored; you will be more productive when you return to work. But by thinking in this way, you are not engaging with the woods on their own terms. Rather, you are ordering them to serve you, in the next four hours s’il vous plait, you are a busy person and you don’t have all day.

This is what the philosopher Martin Buber called an I-It attitude. He said that we can approach the world and everything within it (people and trees equally) with two different attitudes, which he called ‘I-It’ and ‘I-Thou’. When we consider a person as It, we consider that person as an object. That person matters to us insofar as she can do things for us. This is not necessarily mean-spirited: to give an example, we might be in distress, and we might ask a friend to lend us a hand. But certainly I-It is never a true relationship. You may be reading this book because you hope I may have practical guidance to offer you. I am It to you. Ours cannot be a relationship, because you cannot have a relationship with It.

In an I-Thou relationship, however, you value me, the woods, the universe, for what we are.

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