Jonathan Franzen, a renowned American author celebrated for his works on society and the environment, dives deep into the reality of climate change. He argues that we must accept the impending climate apocalypse rather than cling to unrealistic hopes. Franzen advocates for a focus on biodiversity resilience and personal connections with nature instead of just carbon reduction. He also addresses the ethical dilemmas of parenthood in a chaotic world and stresses the importance of community activism amidst environmental challenges.
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insights INSIGHT
Beyond Climate Change
Jonathan Franzen critiques the focus on climate change as the sole environmental issue.
He emphasizes the ongoing biodiversity crisis, driven by factors beyond climate change.
insights INSIGHT
Accepting Climate Failure
Franzen argues that humanity has failed to solve climate change.
He suggests accepting this failure and focusing on building resilience for the inevitable shocks.
insights INSIGHT
Love for Nature
Franzen's perspective is shaped by his love for birds and the natural world.
He criticizes abstract environmental discussions, advocating for personal connections with nature.
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In this highly acclaimed novel, Emmy and Virginia Simpson, two middle-aged sisters, embark on separate journeys to Bali and the Isle of Skye. Emmy, newly divorced, seeks self-discovery in Bali, while Virginia, struggling with her own identity, follows her mother's advice to visit Skye. Their experiences are both traumatic and cathartic as they confront the costs of self-knowledge and their destinies with unexpected consequences.
The Denial of Death
Ernest Becker
In 'The Denial of Death', Ernest Becker discusses the psychological and philosophical implications of how people and cultures react to the concept of death. He argues that human civilization is a defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality, and that this denial is a necessary component of functioning in the world. Becker's work challenges traditional Freudian thought by positing that the primary repression is not sexuality, but rather the awareness of death. He also explores how this fear of death leads to the creation of 'hero systems' and symbols that help individuals transcend their mortality, and how this can result in violence and conflict when different immortality projects clash[2][5][4].
Let’s face it, argues Jonathan Franzen: the climate apocalypse is coming. We’ve already messed up the planet. The polar bears are running out of ice to stand on. Australia and California will burn again. Temperatures keep rising. Our chance to prevent the radical destabilisation of life on earth has already come and gone. According to Franzen, one of America’s most celebrated writers, there are two ways we can think about this. We can keep on hoping that catastrophe is preventable, and feel ever more frustrated or enraged by the world’s inaction. Or we can accept that disaster is coming, and begin to rethink what it means to have hope. In this episode of Intelligence Squared, Franzen explored what we can do once we accept the idea that it is too late to ‘save the planet’.
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