ideasofnature

=Interpreting ideas about nature as ideas about society= 1. Introduction The book progressively develops a framework for interpreting biology in its social context, starting with the broad-brush themes of this chapter:
 * What is said or written to be taken literally can be interpreted so as to expose what is only implicit.
 * In the spirit of critical thinking in relation to interpretation and to ideas about nature and what is natural, consider the contrast between "When I hear people say, 'Nature tells us..' I hear them telling me their views about the way they want people/society to do things" and "I still it is important to know what is natural and what is unnatural. Otherwise anything is acceptable."
 * Interpretation of ideas of nature (following Williams 1980): They are often invoked to justify aspects of the social order, usually aspects becoming problematic at that particular historical juncture, or alternatives to them. So, when we hear people debating what nature is or what is natural, we can ask ourselves what it is about society that is being debated.

1b. Mini-lecture [|Interpreting a series of images] from history, in order to introduce the framework of Williams’s (1980) essay, "Ideas of nature."

2. Reading Raymond Williams (1926-89) was an English-Welsh writer about culture, literature, language, and politics, as well as a novelist. His essay, "Ideas of nature," gives us a sense of the changing meanings given to the term “nature,” the coexistence of contradictory meanings at any one time, and how these meanings reflect ideas about the social order being defended or promoted. There is a cycle: society is projected into nature and then propositions about society are read back out of this “nature.” Ideas of nature are often invoked to explain aspects of the social order, usually aspects becoming problematic at that particular historical juncture. So, when we hear people debating what nature is/what is natural, we can ask ourselves what it is about society that is being debated. In other words, we should try to expose what is only implicit, what is not literally stated.

Williams's essay is somewhat dense, so employ two reading strategies:
 * Use a time line to make notes as you go, with 2 narrow columns and a wider one for what is happening generally in society; the period or century; and the different ideas of nature aligned with the periods.
 * After reading each section, write down the thesis or theme(s) and quotations that strike you as important or as puzzling.

Opening pages: (Full article available through password-protected page.)

3. Activities
 * Students compare and contrast their timelines, important and puzzling themes, then choose one to bring into whole-group discussion.
 * Continue the three-person discussion below, then students compare and contrast the "trialogues" and choose one contrast or conflict to bring into whole-group discussion.
 * Students visit a natural history musuem, conducting a "scavenger hunt" for exhibits that illustrate Williams's account and for exhibits that contradict or complicate his account.

Partovo ("Humans are a Part Of nature"): Humans are living organisms. As such they are part of nature. Therefore, everything they do is natural. Separato ("Humans have become Separate from nature"): People have lost touch with nature and that is why our environment and our society are in trouble. Interpreto ("Interpret Socially views about nature and what is natural"): When I hear people draw lessons from nature, I hear them really telling me something about their views on society. Separato: You'll have to explain this interpretation to me, because, without a sense of what is natural and what is unnatural, anything is acceptable. Interpreto: But Partovo has a sense of what is natural that tells him everything is acceptable. Separato: Is that right? Partovo: Yes. Separato: So you mean mad cow disease, polio, AIDS, and so on are acceptable? Partovo: Um, yes. We could look at them as forms of population control for the human species. Separato: So you wouldn't invest in research for AIDS treatments? Partovo: No. And I don't think the government should either. AIDS affects mostly gays and IV drug users. Their practices do not meet widely held community standards and so they don't deserve society's help. Separato: I think you are out of date about who gets AIDS. But, putting that aside, I thought you said anything humans do is natural and thus acceptable. Partovo: Well, not everything. Separato: So, what is and what is not? ... (continued by reader) ||
 * **Nature, a three-person conversation**

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