Observing nature through scientific and technological instruments is like observing nature with binoculars
ISLAMABAD: The relationship between modernity and nature lacks moral grounding since our perception is that we live ‘in’ nature in order to ‘take’ from it. Therefore, the rise of environmental problems and our pursuit to solve them has blurred the relationship we have with the natural world. It is important to rethink the worthiness of nature from an ontological perspective instead of exploiting it for personal gain.
In other words, one needs to question nature’s shadowy interiority. This, in turn, points to the fact that nature loves to remain hidden since the auto-poietic aspect of it is such that in order to create, nature needs to simultaneously destroy. One can only hope that humans are not part of the latter phenomenon.
Observing nature through scientific and technological instruments is like observing nature with binoculars. Therefore, what we see and seek to control is merely at the surface. It is what lies underneath that we should be worried about. Nature should be assessed in a dialogical manner, both as a worth in itself and as an impending ruin. This is what will help us in understanding what truly lies within nature.
Shehroz Asif
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2020.
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