[FRA:] Mass-extinction

[simon smith]

(sorry, I know this post wasn't addressed to me)

In message <44009F73.9090702 at krokodile.co.uk>, 
"steve.devos at krokodile.co.uk" <steve.devos at krokodile.co.uk> writes
>The point about the mass-extinction event

Why this phrase "mass-extinction event". It seems a little odd. What's 
the reason for the "event" bit? Just wondering.

>is that it is another way of recognizing  that global capitalism, which 
>is still predominantly the west can no longer consume at the expense of 
>the world.

That's certainly true, unless some extraordinary new technology emerges.

> Further it is necessary to realise that the very universals which 
>critical theory maintains - are specific to the human and we are 
>perhaps no longer that simple creature trying to dominate it's local 
>environment,

I don't understand what this means.

> don't we need to accept that theory needs to be able to  address the 
>non-human as equivilant in value to the human ?

No - critical theory would never do that, if it were even possible. It 
would be a return to blind nature and would only come about through a 
regression. It would be back to kill or be killed.
I don't like to repeat myself, but the desire of Adorno (and Marcuse) 
was for a reconciliation with nature. While I'm not aware that Adorno 
thought about ecological disaster, Adorno's formulation is still the 
most advanced that I know of, and it's just as important for it to 
influence and inform ecological thought (as I know it sometimes has) as 
the other way round.

>  If you accept this level of human accountability, then it's clear 
>that whatever passes as critical theory needs some critical 
>reconstructing.

Yes, the critique of technology and its uses does need reconstructing on 
the basis of the ecological dangers that face us. I still haven't got a 
clear idea of Adorno's attitude to industrial society, and I think 
that's because he didn't have a clear idea himself, and nor did Marcuse.

-- 
Simon Smith




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