Claudio Magris • 13-Mar-11
The Sound of nature and the universal consciousness (loss) for the danger
In these hours we sometimes have the impression to attend at the end of the world live, the chasms, water and fire in rage in Japan are and are destroying so many lives and their places come to us in the house. Suddenly, before us as to the nature-dominated, exploited affected - it feels like the Lilliputians in front of Gulliver; waves crumble large buildings such as toys, cars and entire trains disappear like grass, the sky gets fired.
But is this so-called nature, often men-now contrast with the arrogance of the ruler, now with the distressed spoiler guilty of humility - as if they were not also part of nature, as if they were not also nature, like animals, plants or wave? Natural disasters often lead to thoughtful and perhaps unconsciously smug jeremiads punished the arrogance of the man who seeks to dominate nature, the technique that devastates lives. Every disaster is good to criticize every confidence in the technique and progress. The apocalypse-imagined, in the tradition, now time to focus on water now mixed up in the destruction caused by the earthquake - inspires, who looks like us but live far away and safe, or at least thinking about being safe, a shiver of fright. As so often with fear, this is an ambiguous mix attraction and pierced a warning on the weakness of man and his lack of humility towards nature. All this intensifies before disasters most directly due to human responsibility, unlike the character much more 'natural' earthquake and the tsunami that rage in Japan and can not seem to be put into account human all'insensatezza or dishonesty, as is the case for example of the effects triggered by deforestation or from the infamous building that, in many cases - this does not seem to be the case of Japan now hit - does not care, incompetence or greed, cheating, anti-seismic measures. The pride of the man who subdues with its technical nature against this pride ol'invettiva start a blunder: the opposition between man and nature and the opposition, just as fallacious, natural and artificial.
As one great hymn to nature written by Goethe- or transcribed from one of his followers - all is nature, even what seems to us to deny it and instead its staging. There is the myth of a pure and uncorrupted nature, as virgin human intervention that corrupts it. But even the most sincere and healthy wine exists in nature without the action of those who cultivate the vines and harvest grapes. Even the birds' nests is nothing without the work of those who build them. Those who, like Goethe, was the deep sense of belonging of the human species, like other species, nature, knows that the human impulse to build a tent or a house is no less natural than pushing to the beavers build their dams who oppose the impetus, as natural, water. The man is devastating "nature" but is often taken another sin, self-destructive than destructive nature is not threatening, but himself, his own species. The toadstools are no less natural than edible; the frozen wastes of Pluto are no less natural flowering of the Tuscan hills, the gases emerging from the exhaust pipes of cars are no less natural scent of flowers, because they are composed of elements chemicals that are part of the nature of Creation. More simply, poisonous mushrooms, frozen planets and toxic gases are lethal for our species, of which the "nature" probably does not matter that most of the extinct dinosaurs, but that counts for us instead. All, however, belongs to the nature of things, De Rerum Natura.
The technique known not to be so demonized as a sin against nature, is its excess, its abuse is often foolish and stupid that should be reported, not greasy or apocalyptic tones of condemnation of man's misery, but with the clarity of reason, that does not have to bow down to nature - and which is part of that evolution - but be aware of their limits, pursue progress without illusions with hubris that it is unlimited, but competing with all the problems and failures that it also creates and try to understand, from time to time, when to be continued and when it is necessary to stop or even make a few steps back, given that this is possible. This is a warning of possible danger that we lack, even seeing the pictures of the tragedy Japanese remain calm, never foolishly believe that something similar could happen to us, we can make any glaring errors. Similarly, when someone dies of cancer or heart attack, deep down we are convinced that this will ever happen there. This protective unconscious of the danger marks not only individuals but also the civilizations, cultures, societies, certain to be immortal. Pure civilizations have their own endorphins, drugs that protect them from the anxiety of knowing Duty, someday, to die.
I do not know - and I have no competence to be able to know or understand, if the danger posed by the breakdown of the cooling system of the Japanese nuclear reactor and radioactive explosion is proved the mistake of building nuclear power plants in general or whether it indicates as I believe - but without any certainty, given my ignorance on-the danger is always present in every human activity. In his article, so vigorous and convincing, which appeared in yesterday's Corriere, Massimo Gaggi has highlighted the rational and strong will shown by Japan in the pursuit of growth, without "challenges to the fate" in the knowledge effective risk analysis and in preparation for them. In general, the attitude and behavior of the Japanese on this occasion give a great test of courage, firmness and calm with which man is able at times to cope with the disaster. This dignity and moral strength that they have nothing to do with the Promethean arrogance of those who think, with cheerful irresponsibility, of being able to defy with impunity the necessary balance to his case, believing that this form of nature we call the technique might decouple from the ancient mother that that generated by all and understands it as a branch that claimed to deny the tree and where he grew up and go away on their own. If many reactions against technology - even some shades of pathos-antinuclear appear irrational, even more joyous and self-harm is the irrational complacency with which, in the name of progress so that ceases to be such arrogance and a scientist believes that science is God, destroy forests, wasting energy, resources are depleted without thinking about how the Earth can feed a number of hungry and increasingly unsustainable as we can live in a land increasingly different from that to which our species is used.
There is, in humans, a presumption of eternity that makes irresponsible spendthrift of life and goes to meet the presumption a possible transformation of itself. Serious scholars speak of a near future with cyborgs, of men like hybrids of human bodies and technology integrations, it is theoretically possible for a world of women only able to reproduce without human intervention, genetic engineering promises-or threat-beings humans radically different from us, as to be difficult to define "us". Perhaps it is implementing a radical transformation of our species, destined to change our way of being and feeling, in a world where only women were born by women, for example, would be hard to see Hector, who plays with his son Astyanax hoping to become more than he or the passion of Paolo and Francesca, things without which we would not be what we are. Of course, species have always transformed and continue to do so. But, unlike the process that led from the unicellular organism (or fragments of the Big Bang) to Marilyn Monroe, the transformation of our species would occur very quickly rather than billions of years, perhaps in time for those who would live them unsustainable.
This possible transformation - irrationally courted or feared - hurts us more than our own individual death, because it comforts us to believe that after us there will be children like our children, women and men as lovable people we loved. Strength, calmness, dignity with which those now facing the Japanese show that the overwhelming disaster the classic man, as we know it for millennia, has not yet passed, as Nietzsche proclaimed, hoping and fearing all-but is still worth his place.
Corriere della Sera March 13, 2011
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