Clive Hamilton on New Ecological Consciousness (Part-1)

Since we discussed about Global Climate Change last semester (not to mention the ever increasing debate) I thought it's appropriate to post a 2-part video I came across. In these videos (20+ minutes per video) Clive Hamilton talks about “Consumerism, Self-creation and Prospects for a New Ecological Consciousness” in a lecture series titled “Rethinking Our Place in Nature”. To learn more about Clive Hamilton click here.


For those who are wondering if they should spend more than 1hr on watching a video that does not interest them, here’s the content or topics that Clive Hamilton talks about (I have created & listed them in sequential order, and being a blog I have divided them into two parts for respective videos).


Topics in Part-1:-



- What has ecology taught us?



- Industrial revolution led humans to control nature.



- Recent discovery that nature is unable to satisfy human desires.



- Must change from triumphalism to humility.



- How?


:- need for New Ecological Consciousness


But, how?


one method: use reason to overcome appetites.



- Human reasoning has never been sufficiently powerful to change human behavior.



- Ecological Consciousness built on science can appeal to human reason but can’t appeal to inner sense of self.



- Must change self in essence and not relationship with natural systems.



- Existence of world of deeper reality behind everyday world.


“World hidden behind nature which renders nature possible” – Arthur Schopenhauer.



- Schopenhauer Vs Kant



- Every creature has a will to live equivalent to that of every human.



- Identification of self from nature:


“in man as in animal that does not think there prevails a lasting state of mind the certainty springing from inner most consciousness that he is nature, the world itself” - Schopenhauer.


An expansion of oneself with such appreciation.



- Metaphysical error and moral failure of instrumentalist approach to environment (environment as catalogue of resources).



- Emergence of new ecological consciousness will depend on emergence of sense of self and it’s relationship with natural world (and not much on change of belief and attitudes).



- How can humans construct sense of self?

:– by philosophical changes.



- Occurrence of structural change of present society from Productive Society (PS) to Consumption Society (CS).



- Features of PS to CS transition (Differences between PS and CS)



- Reinforcement of PS -> CS transition by other social changes.
Social reform movements in 1960’s and 70’s.
Collective democracy to individual self.



- Invasion of marketers before achieving answer to the quest of autonomous identity.



- Individuality (our current percept of individuality) of marketing society is pseudo-individuality.



- Need for radical re-thinking of relationship between humanity and natural world.
Current environmentalists use the approach of Green Consumerism.



Still Interested! Click here to watch part-1.

Clive Hamilton on New Ecological Consciousness (Part-2)

Here's the 2nd video to the 2-part video where Clive Hamilton talks about “Consumerism, Self-creation and Prospects for a New Ecological Consciousness” in a lecture series titled “Rethinking Our Place in Nature”. To learn more about Clive Hamilton click here.


Topics in Part-2:-



- Green Consumerism
“collection of efforts by environmental NGO’s, businesses and government’s to persuade individuals to buy goods & services that are less harmful to natural environment through their production, consumption and disposal”.
Self-creation from consuming green goods.



- Dangers of Green Consumerism:


Privatization of responsibility for environmental degradation.


Rather than set of problems endemic to economic & social structure, understood as individual responsibility to personal environmental contribution (consistent with free-market view).



- Failure of Green Consumerism to induce significant inroads into unsustainable nature of product & consumption.



- Implications of individualizing responsibility to democracy & environmental progress:


Transforms public debate from institutions (perpetuating environmental degradation) to about personal behavior.


Express concerns through purchasing decisions.


Commoditization of social consent.


Changes ethical conversation to questions of personal morality and not understanding cause & solution (structural factors).


Blocks real solutions.



- Green Consumerism dis-empowers by denying us our agency as citizens.



- "Consumers are not that same as being a citizen, just as Supermarket behavior is not the same as ballot-box behavior".



- Entrenchment of consumption behavior with self.



- Phenomenon of wasteful consumption


:– unbounded desires but limited capacity for usage.



- Evidence contradicting Environmental Kuznets Curve.



- Must re-manufacture ourselves and not just change our consuming behavior.



- Can the citizens be persuaded for an authentic fulfilling alternative to consumer life?



- Must directly challenge consumption & identity formation.



- Recent down-shift phenomenon among some individuals as a challenge.



- Non-philosophical, non-environmental motive of the down-shifters but for personal fulfillment.



Still Interested! Click here to watch part-2.