Raising the Bar: Ecology as the Highest Culture

#Philosophy

 “Inherent in the world’s modern knowledge are the bits and pieces that could create high culture living in harmony with the planet, whereas now we have high culture out of harmony with the planet”

John Todd in: The Age of Ecology by David Cayley

What currently passes for high culture these days is postmodernity―it is the ethos which governs our institutions, the media, many fields of academia and the scientific community, and virtually all other aspects of public life. Unsurprisingly, getting ahead in any of the above-mentioned places is only possible by adhering to the tenets of postmodernity.

But for a whole segment of the population, the principles of postmodernity are untenable and cannot be adopted without abdicating strength, integrity, and autonomy. This claim is not unfounded: Look under the hood and you will see that postmodernity is an auxiliary philosophy that is derivative by design and unfit to be at the forefront. Postmodernity is thus unsuitable for all those who have a disposition for leadership.

This is by no means a simple vitriol against postmodernity―I do not want to be dismissed as an apologist for the likes of Jordan Peterson or Murray Bookchin―because I will recognize the cleverness of postmodern thought. However, cleverness does not mean righteousness.

"Postmodernism is characterized by ‘double coding’, whereby cultural products communicate with two or more different audiences—the general population and an élite" 

Arran Gare: Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis 

Here is the Truth: Postmodernity hides behind a centralized power structure and uses cultural symbols in a way that demeans the general public ​unbeknownst to them. Postmodernity is essentially at odds with life and the only direction it leads is astray.

But―as stated earlier―postmodernity is an auxiliary philosophy and therefore it cannot be the highest culture by its own definition. So a higher culture is needed.

That higher culture is the ecological paradigm.

Don't be fooled by simplicity: Since the ecological paradigm succeeds postmodernity, it encompasses much more than just scientific materialism and resource management (though it includes these).

To be leaders in this area, AVES is trying to express this 'next' philosophy in the way we do things. Essentially:

• It makes use of science but does not forfeit logic in the process
• It uses cultural symbols in a positive way
• There is congruence at various levels of understanding
• Its guiding principles are sustainable (i.e. both tenable and infinitely repeatable)
• Private space is key to support life, family, and nature
• It is decentralized and non-hierarchical, yet exclusive​