Agentic Ecology: How to Win the "Battle of Solutions"
Things are not merely objects or practices, they are also symbols―they concretize much greater and complex ideas that are part of an intricate web of meaning. As Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson bluntly put it: "If you're not thinking about that, you're not thinking".
Now, don't get me wrong: Just because of what is said in the video above, it does not mean that I am advocating for junk food and the destruction of nature. What I am saying is that there are numerous solutions available to the problems that confront us and that those currently put forth by central policy makers along with their incentives are not necessarily the right ones. There are 'hidden meanings' to consider as well when making decisions.
Rational modernists will forever resist this proposition―no matter how irrational the world becomes―but there is in fact a 'war of symbols' happening in society. Postmodernists, with their use of institutions and 'experts', currently use symbols to undermine mankind (homogenize*), whereas AVES, with its remodernist push, is resolute to use symbols in an empowering fashion (heterogenize*).
Let me clarify: I use the word 'symbol' to mean the "information packed into something" that will shape us and/or society. It is not merely a sign; that is, it does not simply SHOW or represent something else―people have a bad habit of separating the abstract from the real―symbols ARE the deeper contents of an object or practice and hence the most important part of it.
Now let's relate this to the environmental movement. One must ask themselves: What is the "story" behind BEVs, energy reduction versus energy efficiency, nuclear versus solar, and all of the other "hot topics"?
You see, it is almost a certainty that most will 'rationalize' the solutions and go along with the proposed policies, but rationalizing is not the right way to reflect on the matter (note: I do not consider rational and logical to be synonyms). Instead, what one needs to do is ask themselves "what is the story behind" these topics and technologies. Once you have identified the story, determine whether the proposed solutions are congruent with the proper course of action and whether there are better solutions available―that is, solutions that work at all levels of analysis (scientific, practical, developmental, cultural, historical, etc.).
You see, it is almost a certainty that most will 'rationalize' the solutions and go along with the proposed policies, but rationalizing is not the right way to reflect on the matter (note: I do not consider rational and logical to be synonyms). Instead, what one needs to do is ask themselves "what is the story behind" these topics and technologies. Once you have identified the story, determine whether the proposed solutions are congruent with the proper course of action and whether there are better solutions available―that is, solutions that work at all levels of analysis (scientific, practical, developmental, cultural, historical, etc.).
AVES is resolved to offer the best solutions at all levels of analysis in regards to how we treat nature and development.
Nature is a word with complex and seemingly contradictory meanings in culture
Nature is not only aristocratic, she is also esoteric. Yet no man of understanding will thereby be induced to make a secret of what he knows, for he realizes only too well that the secret of development can never be betrayed, simply because that development is a question of individual capacity.
- C.J. jung (1925)
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/moon-full-moon-sea-sky-night-sky-2762111/
* Look into Canadian philosopher George Grant to understand what I mean by this.