Verified Document

World Religions And Ecology The Research Paper

As always throughout his book, whenever analyzing the past and the events of the past, the focus quickly transfers to the future. When discussing the interaction between the Neanderthal and the Homo Sapiens, the transition immediately goes to looking into the past and in understanding that the human individual is sometimes unlikely to make any compromises in his search for progress. One can also better understand the ruthlessness of the human specie and understand the risk to which other species can be subjected to.

The look in the past also gives very obvious and interesting aspects of civilizations that disappeared because of reasons we may encounter in the future for our own civilization. The Sumerians, for example, disappeared because they had consumed all the resources that were supporting their civilization. One can obviously wonder whether this is not something that could also occur in our own times. With progress, often additional dangers appear and, as the author mentions, the key is often in the rhythm and way with which progress appears and develops: "the devil here is in the scale: a good bang can be useful; a better bang can end the world"

Other civilizations, like the Egyptian one, have, in Wright's opinion, had the capacity to regenerate its environment, both because of a more moderate growth and because of the environment itself. Today, this seems almost impossible, both because of the rhythm of the destruction done to the environment and because of the demographic growth, with the numbers surpassing 6 billion inhabitants.

One of the most concerning problems that Wright identifies is the fact that globalization has made the entire world interconnected. While this has become a mantra of liberal economists, Wright supports the idea that globalization and liberalization will, in fact, increase the rhythm in which the destruction occurs, mainly because the globalized world will mean that problems in one part of the world will immediately impact and be felt in any of the other places of the world to which the respective one is connected and to which...

As such, he mentions Joseph Tainter who notes that "collapse, if and when it comes again, will this time be global. ... World civilization will disintegrate as a whole"
As mentioned, the argument follows the historical line in tacitly emphasizing that the human society today needs to learn from the errors of the past and that it needs to monitor and understand why other civilizations failed in order to be able to defend itself from the potential errors that would bring it the same type of downfall. At the same time, the approach needs to be a long-term approach, one that focuses on future consequences as well as on the present evolutions.

The focus on the future will need to rebalance the development of the human society with the rational consumption of resources and, further more, the development of the society and demographics growth with the way this impacts the environment and causes harm to the supporting nature.

a) Mr. Wright, your approach seems to be that civilizations, at some point, disappear because of the excesses, especially in terms of resource consumption, that these civilizations go through. Does it not seem more logical to believe that these civilizations, in fact, do not necessarily disappear, but rather transform themselves in the subsequent civilizations? Many of the civilizations of Antiquity seemed to follow that scenario (Rome, Ancient Greece, Egypt, China). In that sense, would it not be more logical that this is what will happen with our civilization as well, simply transform into a new and improved society?

b) Mr. Wright, throughout your book you have failed to discuss whether the expansion in outer space can be a solution to the decreasing volume of resources on Earth? Can we believe that, at some point, progress will actually save the human civilization?

Bibliography

1. Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Progress. Toronto: Anansi. 2004

Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Progress. Toronto: Anansi. 2004

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

1. Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Progress. Toronto: Anansi. 2004

Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Progress. Toronto: Anansi. 2004

Ibid.

Ibid.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

World Religions for Many People, the Diversity
Words: 1742 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

World Religions For many people, the diversity of world religions is a reminder of the vast differences between the different people of the world and their various cultural experiences. However, while many people focus on the differences between the world's religious traditions, what is more fascinating is the incredible overlap between the various world religions and the moral and ethical traditions that have developed under the auspices of those religions. Despite

Religion Theology
Words: 687 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Religion/Theology Environment and Globalization Christine Burke calls for a Christina response to the issue of environment and globalization in her essay entitled Globalization and Ecology. She sets forth her estimation of the steps that the Christian world needs to take to change the current affects of globalization on the earth and the societies that inhabit it. Burke calls for "active participation'42 by the Christian community in understanding, "ecological awareness'42 to shape that

Religion What Roles Do the
Words: 1633 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

There was no time to allow better preparation of the bread. They had to move out of Egypt in before Pharaoh could realize. The bitter herbs symbolized the bitter life experienced in Egypt. They remained as captives of slavery for many years, and a moment of redemption approached. In the book of Exodus, one sympathizes with the Jews that served life of slavery without freedom. However, one feels delighted because

Values in the Contemporary World
Words: 1755 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Because of religion, individuals learn that it is best for them to preserve the environment and that they should concentrate on doing everything they can in order for people living in the future to have access to the same resources that they have in the present. Religious leaders and activists as a whole are essential in influencing people to get actively engaged in saving the environment. Similar to how

Religion Is an Analysis of Seven Works
Words: 2509 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Religion is an analysis of seven works that the author, Daniel Pals, believes have shaped the understanding of religion in the past century. These theories represent seminal attempts to see religion in its social context as a system of values and beliefs, something that would be popularized by French structuralists and students of myth and semiotics in the last half of the 20th century. The theories reviewed put forth

Environmentalism and Taoism Religion
Words: 409 Length: 1 Document Type: Essay

Taoism is a mindset, philosophy, and way of life that is all about flow and harmony. The quote about being like water relies on nature metaphors—something that is central to Taoism. Being like water is a powerful statement, because as soft and formless as water is, water also has the power to transform mountains over time. Brute force is often not the best way to create lasting or meaningful change.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now