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@@ -27,72 +27,72 @@ Structure: 2. It moved from nuclear issues to green issues in the 1980s 3. This rhetorical strategy can use core apocalyptic forms 4. Using apocalyptic forms in this way has literary consequences - * The catastrophe is final, destroys everything worth living for - * The audience is blamed for the problem - * The audience is assumed to have power over the problem + - The catastrophe is final, destroys everything worth living for + - The audience is blamed for the problem + - The audience is assumed to have power over the problem 5. This strategy doesn't work and makes bad things happen - * The audience doesn't have power over green catastrophes, thus alienated - * Obscures green harms happening now, obstructing appropriate responses - * Blames the wrong people for green harms - * Justifies 'whatever it takes' -- authoritarianism, violence + - The audience doesn't have power over green catastrophes, thus alienated + - Obscures green harms happening now, obstructing appropriate responses + - Blames the wrong people for green harms + - Justifies 'whatever it takes' -- authoritarianism, violence 3. Exhort the audience to endure the catastrophe 1. The rhetorical strategy is... 2. St John (arguably) used core apocalyptic forms to this end 3. Using apocalyptic forms in this way had literary consequences for St John - * The catastrophe is immanent, not future - * Deliverance is final, not the catastrophe (tribulation!) - * The audience are assumed to have no power over the outcome - * Acknowledges human agency and responsibility - * The audience are assumed to be able to resist Evil in some way - * Requires a resilient good -- best to use mythological language - * Must come from the margins, not the centre + - The catastrophe is immanent, not future + - Deliverance is final, not the catastrophe (tribulation!) + - The audience are assumed to have no power over the outcome + - Acknowledges human agency and responsibility + - The audience are assumed to be able to resist Evil in some way + - Requires a resilient good -- best to use mythological language + - Must come from the margins, not the centre 4. This strategy has been tried by green rhetors 5. This strategy works and makes good things happen - * Doesn't ask the impossible - * Banishes panic - * Encourages local action - * Awakens the complacent - * Encourages resistance to dominant systems + - Doesn't ask the impossible + - Banishes panic + - Encourages local action + - Awakens the complacent + - Encourages resistance to dominant systems 6. This strategy, as currently deployed, under-exploits apocalyptic forms - * Ultimate vindication - * Mythological language - * Subaltern sources of authority + - Ultimate vindication + - Mythological language + - Subaltern sources of authority 4. Summary Now, what do I need in order to write this dissertation? For chapter 2, I'll need: -* A list of shared forms between nuclear rhetoric and green rhetoric -* Examples of catastrophic nuclear rhetoric -* Examples of catastrophic green rhetoric demonstrating the close - link with nuclear rhetoric, many of which should be from the same - time period as the peak of nuclear catastrophe rhetoric -* A list of 'core apocalyptic forms' -* Examples of green rhetoric using 'core apocalyptic forms' -* Examples of green rhetoric using the features listed in 2.4 -* Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric causes alienation -* Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric obstructs appropriate - responses to ongoing green harms -* Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric blames the wrong people, - i.e. evidence that major green harms are not fairly blamed on the - behaviour of ordinary people -* Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric justifies violence and +- A list of shared forms between nuclear rhetoric and green rhetoric +- Examples of catastrophic nuclear rhetoric +- Examples of catastrophic green rhetoric demonstrating the close link with + nuclear rhetoric, many of which should be from the same time period as the + peak of nuclear catastrophe rhetoric +- A list of 'core apocalyptic forms' +- Examples of green rhetoric using 'core apocalyptic forms' +- Examples of green rhetoric using the features listed in 2.4 +- Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric causes alienation +- Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric obstructs appropriate responses to + ongoing green harms +- Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric blames the wrong people, i.e. + evidence that major green harms are not fairly blamed on the behaviour of + ordinary people +- Evidence that catastrophic green rhetoric justifies violence and authoritarianism For chapter 3, I'll need: -* Evidence that this is St John's rhetorical strategy -* A list of 'core apocalyptic forms' -- the same as in chapter 2 -* Examples of St John using the 'core apocalyptic forms' -* Examples of St John using the features listed in 3.3 -* Examples of apocalyptic green rhetoric meeting these criteria -* Evidence that such rhetoric banishes panic -* Evidence that such rhetoric encourages local action -* Evidence that such rhetoric awakens the complacent -* Evidence that such rhetoric encourages resistance to dominant systems -* Examples of ancient apocalypse using the features listed in 3.6 -* Evidence that green rhetoric can use the features listed in 3.6 to make good +- Evidence that this is St John's rhetorical strategy +- A list of 'core apocalyptic forms' -- the same as in chapter 2 +- Examples of St John using the 'core apocalyptic forms' +- Examples of St John using the features listed in 3.3 +- Examples of apocalyptic green rhetoric meeting these criteria +- Evidence that such rhetoric banishes panic +- Evidence that such rhetoric encourages local action +- Evidence that such rhetoric awakens the complacent +- Evidence that such rhetoric encourages resistance to dominant systems +- Examples of ancient apocalypse using the features listed in 3.6 +- Evidence that green rhetoric can use the features listed in 3.6 to make good things happen In order to achieve this, I've created tasks.md and followed up with David de @@ -276,8 +276,8 @@ only gives a "'greater than fifty per cent' [...] chance of avoiding climate catastrophe". The Committee recommended preparing for 2-4C of warming, 'for which read ... Armageddon. [...] the end of life as we know it.' A good illustration of how apocalyptic symbols and forms can be used to try and -motivate political action, and in particular action to avoid an impending -future catastrophe. +motivate political action, and in particular action to avoid an impending future +catastrophe. As examples of action, the authors raised: gardening, ethical consumption, art. But they ultimately placed a higher value on political activism. Their models @@ -571,7 +571,9 @@ The Greenpeace response gave 7 proposals: 1. Take action now, don't wait until there is more scientific certainty. 2. 'The main routes to surviving the greenhouse threat' are energy efficiency, - renewables instead of fossil fuels and nuclear, ban the production of CFCs, produce less greenhouse gases in the process of making food, stopping deforestation, and scaling up reforestation. + renewables instead of fossil fuels and nuclear, ban the production of CFCs, + produce less greenhouse gases in the process of making food, stopping + deforestation, and scaling up reforestation. 3. 'The world community' must consume no more than 12TW, distributed more equally across the world than the current 10TW. 4. 'Industrialized countries' should invest in energy efficiency and give free @@ -652,7 +654,10 @@ Lorenzo DiTommaso says it is an 'unhealthy worldview', immature, 'hostile to life on Earth.' I'd like to hear more about his views. David Frankfurter says it is a morally unacceptable apology for brutal violence. -Collins thinks it is better to acknowledge both the violence and the justice/hope sides of the texts rather than try to deny the violence or ignore the justice/hope. He points out that apocalyptic symbols are not just used by dispensationalists, but also by novelists like Cormack McCarthy. +Collins thinks it is better to acknowledge both the violence and the +justice/hope sides of the texts rather than try to deny the violence or ignore +the justice/hope. He points out that apocalyptic symbols are not just used by +dispensationalists, but also by novelists like Cormack McCarthy. Then there's some random handy observations on apocalyptic literature I picked up. @@ -674,7 +679,17 @@ Collins noted two major types of apocalypse: historical vs cosmic journeys. Both interwoven in the Enochic literature. Striking lack of historical concern in Revelation. -Collins notes that RH Charles in the age of Wellhausen, and HH Rowley and RS Russell in the mid-20C, set the tone before. They had a tendency to reduce mythological language to allegory for historical or theological propositional assertions, and were intolerant of what they saw as incoherence, and posited source relationships to 'explain' such features, as if they were necessarily written by neat-minded modern scholars like them. Nowadays, scholars believe that apocalypses were probably written like that originally, because their authors had different standards/priorities. Paul Ricoeur reckoned that symbols have multivocal, indeterminate meaning. Gunkel debunked textual 'seams' in apocalypses, encouraged appreciation of symbolic, traditional mythological language. +Collins notes that RH Charles in the age of Wellhausen, and HH Rowley and RS +Russell in the mid-20C, set the tone before. They had a tendency to reduce +mythological language to allegory for historical or theological propositional +assertions, and were intolerant of what they saw as incoherence, and posited +source relationships to 'explain' such features, as if they were necessarily +written by neat-minded modern scholars like them. Nowadays, scholars believe +that apocalypses were probably written like that originally, because their +authors had different standards/priorities. Paul Ricoeur reckoned that symbols +have multivocal, indeterminate meaning. Gunkel debunked textual 'seams' in +apocalypses, encouraged appreciation of symbolic, traditional mythological +language. Scholars spent much of the 20th century arguing over whether apocalypse came from prophecy or Persia, or even wisdom. Now scholars recognise it was @@ -708,7 +723,10 @@ distinct community identity of his audience, building on Elliot 1984, who argued that he responded to contemporary fears of _pharmakeia_ by accusing Rome of sorcery and showing that God had the best magic. -Carey observed that John, like other apocalypticists, uses the form (direct divine revelation) to generate authority, but like other apocalypticists, he also generates authority by admitting his personal weakness and identifying with his audience. +Carey observed that John, like other apocalypticists, uses the form (direct +divine revelation) to generate authority, but like other apocalypticists, he +also generates authority by admitting his personal weakness and identifying with +his audience. Carey also observed that the Lion of Judah is announced, then appears as a Lamb, implying that the Lamb conquers not by devouring his enemies but by his @@ -753,8 +771,8 @@ happening. ### @{kowalewski-environmental-apocalypse} A collection of essays, four were particularly interesting. There was a strong -thread of avoiding utopianism on the one hand, and catastrophism on the other. -I think John's Apocalypse can fit nicely in the middle ground. +thread of avoiding utopianism on the one hand, and catastrophism on the other. I +think John's Apocalypse can fit nicely in the middle ground. Catastrophe/Anthropocene discourse, whatever seeks to say 'we have all done this and we must change our ways now or else,' reinforces existing institutions @@ -1006,20 +1024,21 @@ few different threads woven together: about global warming - Al Gore remembering his early experiences with Roger Revelle -Lots of what Al Gore was saying was illustrated with video montages. There were also isolated snippets relating the story to his 2000 election campaign and the +Lots of what Al Gore was saying was illustrated with video montages. There were +also isolated snippets relating the story to his 2000 election campaign and the time his 6-year-old son was hit by a car and nearly died. Notable features of the presentation: -- Pictures of Earth, opening with Earthshot and concluding with Voyager 1's - Pale Blue Dot +- Pictures of Earth, opening with Earthshot and concluding with Voyager 1's Pale + Blue Dot - We used to assume the continents were too big to move, likewise, we used to assume the climate was too big to move, but we were wrong - Global warming is already shrinking Lake Chad, melting huge glaciers, chomping chunks out of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets -- CO2 and temperature changes are way out of order with natural changes in - human history and the last 650,000 years, could be in for unimaginable change - in what Earth looks like, comparison with Ice Ages +- CO2 and temperature changes are way out of order with natural changes in human + history and the last 650,000 years, could be in for unimaginable change in + what Earth looks like, comparison with Ice Ages - Temperatures clearly increasing, new records always being set. Results: heatwaves killing thousands, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, Katrina! - There were warnings before Katrina, now we must listen to the warnings of the @@ -1067,7 +1086,8 @@ as if a window was opened through which the future was very clearly visible. See that? he says, see that? That's the future in which you're going to live your life.' -Future generations will ask why their parents didn't wake up. 'We need to hear that question from them now.' +Future generations will ask why their parents didn't wake up. 'We need to hear +that question from them now.' The film concluded with a reel of ways people can take action interspersed amongst the credits: reduce your personal emissions, recycle, vote, run for @@ -1207,9 +1227,9 @@ great deal better: - Revelation nests local contexts inside bigger contexts, finally the widest possible context: cosmos. This is the role of mythological language. Although - the beast and Rome e.g. are connected by mythological language, the imagery cannot be reduced to mere - correspondence; Asian social life is found in the relationship between images - within, not outside, the world of the vision. + the beast and Rome e.g. are connected by mythological language, the imagery + cannot be reduced to mere correspondence; Asian social life is found in the + relationship between images within, not outside, the world of the vision. - John's vision is not characterised by deep metaphysical dualism, conflict or crisis, but rather 'moves from unbroken wholeness to unbroken wholeness.' - There is no evidence for a crisis facing John's audience imposed on Christians @@ -1274,7 +1294,8 @@ sailing vessel to COP19, etc. Their argument feels like it stops short to me. They seem to portray their subjects as if they're trying to deceive themselves into feeling OK when their beliefs only give them rational reasons to despair. If this is true, it is -deplorable, it is a condemnation of these people, it describes them as irrational, deliberately dishonest. +deplorable, it is a condemnation of these people, it describes them as +irrational, deliberately dishonest. It is striking that some people think that action begins when hope dies. This goes against my assumptions. @@ -1454,7 +1475,8 @@ A very calm, practical book. Economics for a popular audience. The big idea: we need unilateral action, not multilateral. Each nation that obeys these three principles will eliminate their contribution to climate change in the cheapest and most effective way: polluter pays, public money for public goods, net -environmental benefit. Decarbonisation is costly, a carbon tax is the most efficient way of pricing this cost in. +environmental benefit. Decarbonisation is costly, a carbon tax is the most +efficient way of pricing this cost in. I found him persuasive. @@ -1493,7 +1515,9 @@ to stop living the lives of luxury which fossil fuels have enabled, but this is not politically feasible, because people don't want to give up their lives of luxury. -Chp 1: in the Permian extinction, 90% of species and nearly all plants died. We are already on a course for droughts and shortages of water and food, and the melting of the Greenland ice cap. 2C of warming will unleash feedback loops. +Chp 1: in the Permian extinction, 90% of species and nearly all plants died. We +are already on a course for droughts and shortages of water and food, and the +melting of the Greenland ice cap. 2C of warming will unleash feedback loops. Chp 2: Exxon funds climate misinformation, which ends up in mainstream media and high politics. @@ -1537,7 +1561,8 @@ Isabella Tree made me feel hopeful. (I was already in an emotional state after reading @{losing-eden}.) I was on the edge of tears three times while reading _Wilding_. -_Wilding_ is the story of how Isabella and her husband rewilded their farm at Knepp in Sussex over twenty years, and the explosion of wildlife that resulted. +_Wilding_ is the story of how Isabella and her husband rewilded their farm at +Knepp in Sussex over twenty years, and the explosion of wildlife that resulted. She tells a story of how, while we destroy nature in so much of the world at large, this is a little haven, and you can do something to build a little haven, @@ -1553,8 +1578,8 @@ species. > Within weeks, they had cut down or coppiced dozens of shrubs and small trees, > and built a lodge and several dams. From a tiny, trickling stream, they have > created a pond nearly 2 acres in size. In the sizzling drought of that summer -> \[2022\], the beaver pen was a haven for wildlife, and emerald-green -> _*watery kingdom*_, filled with insects and birdsong. +> \[2022\], the beaver pen was a haven for wildlife, and emerald-green _*watery +> kingdom*_, filled with insects and birdsong. I noticed her revulsion at the term 'weed', and insisted that so-called 'weeds' are in fact native grasses and wildflowers. We should never call them 'weeds' @@ -1671,7 +1696,9 @@ necessary, implies not reducing consumption or limiting economic growth but energy efficiency and renewables. Tim Wirth gave a speech to the US Senate condensing Earth's history into 100 years: we must act in the next four seconds. -'Experiment' language used frequently. WMO 1985. Thatcher 27 Sep 1988 at annual dinner of Royal Society, 'Mrs Greenmantle,' motivated by public opinion, Hinkley Point, international politics? 'The massive experiment is going awry.' +'Experiment' language used frequently. WMO 1985. Thatcher 27 Sep 1988 at annual +dinner of Royal Society, 'Mrs Greenmantle,' motivated by public opinion, Hinkley +Point, international politics? 'The massive experiment is going awry.' There was a story in Chp 4 that international politics is waking up to the threat. Thatcher, Bush 'White House effect', Gorbachov saying traditional @@ -1680,7 +1707,8 @@ international co-operation, climate change as a common enemy around which the divisions of the world must and therefore will crumble, ideological/economic systems likely to converge, 'universal crusade to save the planet.' -Also in Chp 4: 'environmental security' idea, protecting environment needed for national security, climate change already causing millions of climate refugees. +Also in Chp 4: 'environmental security' idea, protecting environment needed for +national security, climate change already causing millions of climate refugees. Book written as a warning. Chp 4: 'We must begin to take action to reduce global warming. And we must learn that global warming is in reality a global warning to |