Marx and Williams Readings on Nature
In “Ideas of Nature”, Raymond Williams describes the evolution of the way humans relate to nature and how the ideas that illustrate nature’s definition have changed throughout the ages. The relationship between human history and the progress of known and accepted definitions of nature are analyzed through his chronological evaluations of mankind’s development. He describes the advancement of the classification of nature from the time when nature was seen as a “goddess” and “Divine Mother” to most the most recent view of nature as something that must be controlled by man.
Williams begins the descriptive journey of nature as viewed by humankind by describing how people saw nature as a “goddess”. However, this observation of nature did come into conflict as human history developed into a predominantly monotheistic one. When man saw the necessity to put God above all other things, nature was pushed back to being less important in their daily lives. People of that time recognized nature’s significant role in the world, but it was wrong to “worship” it, so to speak. This is when God became “the first absolute, but Nature his minister and deputy.” The fact that nature may potentially become God’s challenger or competitor for importance in man’s life forced it to take a step backwards.
Later, a newer idea of nature emerged, one that was more hierarchical and practical in character. Man recognized the hierarchy of life, with God at the top as the Supreme Being and nature intertwined in all other aspects of it. During this time, man began to question his role in the natural world and wonder whether he could be “described in the same terms as animals.” A new set of questions surfaced as humankind began to question ideas of destiny: how to figure theirs out and discover their role in the world.
Next, Williams describes man’s newfound desire to intervene and potentially control nature. This is when man and nature are distinctly separated from each other because, as Williams points out, man can only desire to control nature if he sees himself separate from nature. The idea of two distinctly different groups on earth has now come forth and the idea of this separation has no doubt been carried into our views of nature today.
Williams’ chronological depiction of the evolution of our ideas of nature has helped open my eyes to the connections that human history has with nature. I never thought about why we view nature the way we do, I have always just accepted my personal views as being unique to me. From reading “Ideas of Nature” I have realized that so many things I thought I knew about nature have been developing throughout time, hand in hand with the development of humankind. I agree with Williams’ ending idea: we cannot have a different relationship with nature if we do not first change our ideas of nature.
In “The Machine in the Garden”, Leo Marx discusses the different types of pastoralism with the use of many literary references. Like Williams, Marx analyzes the relationship between man and nature. However, Williams focused more on human’s views of nature and how humans are directly involved with nature, whereas Marx focuses more on nature’s affect on humans. He says that there are two different types of pastoralism: “popular and sentimental”, and “imaginative and complex”.
According to Marx, the ideas of pastoralism relate to man’s constant desire to escape from reality and return to the comforting romanticism of nature. Marx uses many literary examples to make his point, constantly mentioning names like Mark Twain, Earnest Hemmingway, and Robert Frost. All of these writers attempted to find temporary solace in the comforts of nature to escape from the fast paced and ever changing civilized world. The main example that Marx uses is one particular experience of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne sat outside in nature for some time to observe his surroundings and record them in a journal. Though he thought he discovered nothing of consequence, his notes reveal a harsh clash between man and nature. For example, as Hawthorne is sitting in the woods and making notes of the setting around him, a sharp train whistle pierces his silent reflection and the mood of his journal changes drastically from there. Instead of simply observing the nature around him, he begins to make notes that include, whether he knows it or not, more human involvements in nature.
The distinct separation of man and nature is dominant in Marx’s writings. He speaks of the locomotive train as being the symbol of human advancement, technology, and overall society of the time and when Hawthorne writes of its disruption of nature, it can be seen that today’s society is just as destructive, if not more. Our new technologies have a far greater effect on our environment then the few trains that were just being developed during Hawthorne’s time. Marx brings up a good observation of man’s role in nature, but offers no real suggestions on how to mend our disturbances.
Three questions to think about:
1. How can mankind lessen the gap between us and nature? And should we want to?
2. How does today’s technology affect our views of nature today?
3. What is the difference between our idealized views of nature and the views of nature in the past? If we wanted to go back to nature now, would we be able to?