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Visiting Scholar Argues for Humanist Environmentalism

Humanist environmentalism is a call for nothing less than an understanding of the wholeness of the world in which we live, that we are part of that wholeness, and that we have a moral imperative to defend that wholeness. William Cronon's October 9 lecture, "Humanist Environmentalism: A Manifesto," detailed premises that provide a foundation for humanist environmentalism.

Cronon, the author of Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature and the Frederick Jackson Turner professor of history, geography, and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was in Chico as part of the President's Visiting Scholars Program. His visit was co-sponsored by the Committee on Arts and Lectures, the Environmental Studies Program, and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Cronon starts with the central idea that as human beings, we tend to see ourselves as sep- arate from nature. We define wilderness as a place where there are no humans. He argues that this dualism of "human beings outside of nature is a very problematic foundation on which to try to construct an environ-mental movement that takes full responsibility for the moral challenge of trying to be sustainable on the earth."

Cronon's premises underlying humanist environmentalism emphasize that nature and wilderness are cultural constructs, and that we are a part of nature. "Nature is all we've got. We are never outside it, and our lives depend on it," Cronon said. For environmentalists to protect nature re-quires an understanding of both nature and culture, he added. "They must recognize that this great project is fundamentally about changing human culture. It is a cultural project at least as much as a natural one."

While nature is a cultural construct, it is also the place where we live. Thus, "nonuse of nature is not an option." Cronon said that our choice cannot be to leave no marks, but to make the very difficult choices of what kind of marks to leave.

All views of nature are partial, said Cronon. He cautioned against the "unconscious self-righteousness of a class that does not recognize its own peculiar class perspective and class privileges. The rancher and the logger, for instance, know things about nature that the backpacker and the kayaker do not, and vice versa. All are partial views, and we all have things to learn from each other if we are willing to enter into that dialogue."

Cronon believes that as we work toward a sustainable future, we must work not only for the nonhuman natural world, but also for values of "social justice, democracy, fairness, tolerance, community, generosity, forgiveness of the other, love, humane living, beauty, good humor, joy," for these values will make the rest possible.

Barbara Alderson