While people previously lived in small communities, similar to a troop of chimpanzees, we live more like a colony of ants today. We are all marching in one direction and it is difficult to define the role of the individual, even though we like to feel that we are understood and appreciated. It is therefore not surprising that problems like burnout, loneliness or depression are becoming more frequent. At the same time, we are faced with growing inequality, polarisation and climate change as a society.
“For a long time, we thought we were rulers over nature,” says Noelle Aarts, professor of Socio-Ecological Interactions. “We started living in increasingly complex societies and we have essentially been robbing our living environment. Of course, to survive we have to take from nature, and as a species we are focused on cooperation, but the balance has been lost – with severe consequences.”
Dependent on systems
This situation has to change, but how? Should politicians take the lead, should companies take measures, or should citizens change their behaviour? “It's not either choice A or choice B, but both A and B. You can decide to do something every day, and the more people who decide, the more they reinforce each other. If we pull out all the stops, we can make a difference”
Aarts realises that this is easier said than done. “We are locked into systems that are self-perpetuating. For example, consider the use of fossil fuels or our agricultural system. We depend on these systems and a new system is not readily available.” Aarts mentions electric driving and organic farming, but it will take more than an alternative to shake up the existing system. At least three transitions are required.
Rights for rivers
“First, we need a different awareness of our position in nature. We should stop thinking that we can control nature and realise that we are dependent on our living environment. Nature will recover, but will we survive as a species?” Additionally, Aarts argues that we must democratise our decision-making by giving a voice not only to ourselves today, but also to future generations or other elements in nature, such as rivers. “In India, for example, the highly polluted Ganges and Yamuna rivers have been given legal rights.”
Third, we would benefit from a different way of talking and communicating. “It's not only about the words we use – today's language is tomorrow's reality – but also about how we have conversations. Instead of preaching your own viewpoint, you can listen, ask questions and discover on which points you agree with others so that you can move forward together.”
Tip: Attend this lecture of Radboud Reflects
Thinking from the ocean | Lecture and discussion | Spring 2022 | 8 – 8.30 pm | Nijmegen. The ‘blue humanities’ aim to break through our classical image of the ocean as a large, empty mass. What are the blue humanities? What does it mean to think from viewpoint of the ocean, and what new scientific insights does the ‘oceanic turn’ offer within various fields of study? Come and listen to an introduction to the blue humanities and the findings of an oceanographer and a cultural scientist about their research in the blue humanities. Keep an eye on the agenda: www.ru.nl/radboureflects