Overview of “The New Nature” by Britton-Purdy
“The New Nature,” an essay by Britton-Purdy about nature and humanity’s historical perception of it through the lens of the political economy, reveals the coming world paradigm for some and confirms the hunches of others. He claims, “the world has slipped from the Holocene … into the Anthropocene, the epoch of humanity, in which people are a force, maybe the force, in the development of the planet” (Britton-Purdy para. 1).
The author mainly appeals to ethos, mentioning Western thinkers, clerics, political economists, and logos by creating an argumentative sequence with historical knowledge to prove his thesis. I find the overall argument solid and sufficient, and I agree with his message.
Critique of Democratic Nature and Self-Evident Meaning
One of the few shortcomings is that the ideas of democratic nature and self-evident meaning were not sufficiently explained. Britton-Purdy provides historical context as an explanation, but these have not been identified as political science terms.
Misapplication of Denaturalized Concepts
There is an idea in Britton-Purdy’s work that I think is misapplied. In the opening section, he argues that the Anthropocene is an era of denaturalized political, economic, and natural fields (Britton-Purdy para. 2). Judging by the wording, Britton-Purdy means by these concepts desacralized world aspects without mysteries and a disenchanted, pragmatic approach of humankind to interacting with these. I’m afraid I have to disagree with this formulation and think this is a weak point in the argumentative base.
Later in the article, the author connects the naturalized American landscape with the concept of “wilderness” (Britton-Purdy para. 15). Therefore, it is not the aspects of the surrounding reality that have been denaturalized in the eyes of people, but instead human beings have finally adapted to the environments discussed. People as a collective can influence and shape the political and economic realms and the biosphere now; humankind sees no existential dangers in these, only risks. If I were writing this essay, I would use such words as ‘adapted humanity’ instead of ‘denaturized politics, economics, and nature.’
Work Cited
Britton-Purdy, Jedediah. “The New Nature.” Boston Review. 2016. Web.