Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, Dean at the University of Victoria and author of Hospicing Modernity, explores the complexities of modernity intertwined with her mixed Indigenous and German heritage. The discussion reveals the need for a compassionate acceptance of modernity's decline while fostering new collective approaches. She critiques separation from nature and advocates for a shift towards interconnections and emotional maturity. Andreotti emphasizes redefining agency and encourages a mindful navigation of our shared responsibility for a sustainable future.
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Mixed Heritage
Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti's mixed indigenous and German heritage shaped her understanding of modernity.
Her upbringing exposed her to the complexities of love and violence within colonial encounters.
insights INSIGHT
House of Modernity
Modernity, like a house, is built on a foundation of separability between humans and nature.
This creates hierarchies, renders land as property, and instills a sense of worthlessness if we don't produce value.
insights INSIGHT
Individualism and Authoritarianism
Individualistic cultures amplify fear, uncertainty, and worthlessness in modernity's decline.
This makes people susceptible to authoritarians who promise certainty and power.
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In 'The World Without Us', Alan Weisman presents a detailed thought experiment on how the Earth would change if humans were to vanish suddenly. The book draws on interviews with scientists and explores various scenarios, including the decay of cities, the persistence of certain human creations like plastic and nuclear waste, and the potential for nature to reclaim and heal from human devastations. Weisman also delves into historical and scientific contexts, such as the evolution of humans, the impact of human activities on the environment, and the long-term effects of pollution and industrial activities.
Hospicing Modernity
Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism
Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti
This book critiques the modernity narrative as a single story of progress, development, and civilization that is expiring. It argues that modernity, driven by expansion, colonialism, and resource extraction, has created significant harm and imbalance. Andreotti calls for 'hospicing' modernity, offering palliative care to its decline while nurturing new, potentially wiser systems. The book includes thought experiments and exercises to help readers reimagine learning, unlearn harmful behaviors, and expand their capacity to handle difficult and painful issues. It emphasizes the need for humility, accountability, and a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of human and natural systems.
Modernity is dying within and around us, and we need to face that death with courage and compassion. Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, author of Hospicing Modernity, joins us. Highlights include:
How her mixed Indigenous and German heritage in Brazil exposed her to a complex mix of love and violence, deepening her understanding of how socialization and education can perpetuate harmful relationships;
Why the ‘house of modernity’, which is built on a foundation of humanity’s separation from the rest of nature, is structured to ultimately fail;
Why we need to ‘hospice modernity’ both within and around us, without feeling overwhelmed or rushing for quick fixes, while making space for something much larger to emerge;
Why we need to compost the ‘pedestal’ sense of agency from modernity and its elevated sense of certainty and subject-object relationships and embrace a more intersubjective mycelial sense of agency;
Why ‘outgrowing modernity’ will require us to prepare for a ‘well-died death’ and a greater sense of emotional sobriety, relational maturity, intellectual discernment, and interspecies and intergenerational responsibility.
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OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.
Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.
OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance 
