All This Life Here with Jesse Callahan Bryant All This Audio Here

This is an audio version of my new chapter with Justin Farrell in the new Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, V2 (2023) called "The Influence of the Nature-Culture Dualism on Morality." The new handbook was edited by Steven Hitlin, Shai M. Dromi, and Aliza Luft and is out from Springer-Verlag New York, LLC.
Abstract:
Nature and culture are perhaps the two most consistent moral categories in Western thought. And yet, despite their stability, what nature and culture represent within a given moral system varies widely. In this chapter, we argue that the nature-culture dualism (“NCD”) has a fundamental impact on the moral imagination of different societies, and that this relationship has been underappreciated by sociology. To illustrate our argument, we trace the evolution of nature-culture dualism (“NCD”) from Greek and Roman thought, through Medieval Christian thought, and into the Modern era, from which sociology emerged. We show how in each era different presuppositions are stabilized by metaphors that naturalize a particular nature-culture dualism and set of moral beliefs, first about how humans should treat nature, and second, about what type of society nature is telling humans to build. Moving forward, sociologists should pay closer attention to the nature-culture dualism, not only because it is analytically important but because moral imagination is impossible without it.

This is an audio version of my new chapter with Justin Farrell in the new Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, V2 (2023) called "The Influence of the Nature-Culture Dualism on Morality." The new handbook was edited by Steven Hitlin, Shai M. Dromi, and Aliza Luft and is out from Springer-Verlag New York, LLC.

Abstract:

Nature and culture are perhaps the two most consistent moral categories in Western thought. And yet, despite their stability, what nature and culture represent within a given moral system varies widely. In this chapter, we argue that the nature-culture dualism (“NCD”) has a fundamental impact on the moral imagination of different societies, and that this relationship has been underappreciated by sociology. To illustrate our argument, we trace the evolution of nature-culture dualism (“NCD”) from Greek and Roman thought, through Medieval Christian thought, and into the Modern era, from which sociology emerged. We show how in each era different presuppositions are stabilized by metaphors that naturalize a particular nature-culture dualism and set of moral beliefs, first about how humans should treat nature, and second, about what type of society nature is telling humans to build. Moving forward, sociologists should pay closer attention to the nature-culture dualism, not only because it is analytically important but because moral imagination is impossible without it.

Abstract:
This essay explores the conceptualization of "home" in Bill Cronon’s The Trouble with Wilderness, where home represents the local, nature, and direct environment that we live in and manipulate. The discussion focuses on the implications of Cronon's alternative to nature-based wilderness ideology, which is to bring nature closer to home. However, it emphasizes the problematic and impossible dimensions of Cronon's proposition, noting that not everyone has a physical home or soil to return to, and our globalized economy obscures our understanding of our material origins. Drawing from the works of Bruno Latour and Isabelle Stengers, the essay suggests that "home" should not be merely spatial but should encompass our global interdependencies. We should regard home as the world we rely on for survival, not just the world we inhabit. It calls for a future human consciousness that acknowledges our planetary home, going beyond the narrow confines of the local to the truly global, where we recognize and honor our real obligations.

In this episode, we delve into the political ideology of former President Donald Trump, drawing parallels and distinctions between his administration and historical notions of fascism. We analyze the controversy surrounding Trump and look at the bigger discussion that his presidency has sparked. Through references to Roger Eatwell's description of fascism and the aftermath of the January 6 event, we investigate the nature and impact of the MAGA movement. The episode also reflects on the minimal changes under Trump's tenure, despite his revolutionary rhetoric. Drawing insights from Putin's Russia, we examine how the MAGA movement harnessed the power of the internet and social media to manipulate reality. Tune in as we conclude with a thought-provoking perspective: the MAGA movement is not exactly fascist, but rather, a reality show about fascism.

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Abstract:
In many documents left behind by recent white domestic terrorists we see the re-emergence of a national identity that fuses people and land. From Christchurch to El Paso, old articulations "the people" which came to a head most famously in the Nazi sense of the volk and the politics of blood and soil are today resurfacing. This article traces the broad contours of this ecofascist politics that fuses ethnos and ecos in order to morally justify political exclusion, genocide, and today terrorism via mass shooting.

Original:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15365042221114992

Citation:
Bryant, J. C. (2022). Ecos, Ethnos, and Fascism. Contexts, 21(3), 51–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/15365042221114992

Explore the intersection of ecology, sociology, and politics, tracing back to the French Revolution. Discover how early Romanticism both influenced and opposed modern concepts like industrialization and democratization. Unpack the philosophies of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, and see how their views on intergenerationality echo in today's environmental discourse.