Author: admin

Living in luxury, on what grounds?

The idea of luxury seems to be something we’ve really bought into: that the arc of civilisation is this pursuit of liberation from nature and limitation, as we rise above that to prosperity, freedom and indulgence. As if material gain is the height of progress, the state to which we should all aspire. It seems that’s the model, as we do what we do (see Notes One).

But is this intention in itself questionable? Where did the idea come from that excess, novelty and consumerism are the way to be? It seems both an interesting and important question, given how greatly that assumption is shaping the world around us.

It’s a way of thinking that’s informing our relationship toward nature and one another (Notes Two), careless as we might be with the social and environmental networks that sustain us (Notes Three). This idea that what we’re pursuing is justifiable is surely defining all these actions we’re taking, needs we’re encouraging, and consequences we’re deeming acceptable along that path.

Yet what foundations are we building on? What are these ideas, and are we sure they’re solid, reliable, right? Are they wise and coherent as a whole? Will they succeed and, if so, at what cost?

Because, when we look at modern life, there are clearly costs. There were costs in the past, in terms of the other ways of life that got trampled over to make space for this one. There are costs now, as consumer goods are produced using finite resources and cheap labour for the enjoyment of a fairly small proportion of people.

Then there are the justifications. Some people clearly inherited advantages set up in the past; now holding the power to maintain or improve our systems, to instil them with human values or continue placing gain above all else. If it’s arguable we’re all the same, then justifying these things becomes tricky.

And, of course, all of that’s complicated. It’s the history of ideas, peoples, possibilities and outcomes. It’s legacies: new people, one thing being built upon another until it’s a little hazy who’s responsible (Notes Four). It’s a complex system we all kind of have a stake in, and unpicking it may be almost as risky as ploughing on.

All of which is hard to face up to. It’s a system that seems to feed off our desire for material and social security, tapping into the human psyche to make money then investing that in ever more ingenious ways of achieving the same. After all, do we need luxury? Is it even meaningful if everyone were to have it, or does it only work as a means of differentiation? If that’s so, is there any end in sight to this way of operating?

Sometimes my writing veers off into territories I’d not entirely foreseen; and this is one of those times. But maybe it’s valid, because looking to the grounds – the ideals, moral justifications, and practical foundations – of our way of life must be worth it.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Culture and the passing of time
Note 1: Does it all balance out?
Note 2: At what cost, for humans & for nature
Note 2: Waste and consumer choices
Note 3: Living the dream
Note 3: Money as a pivot of matter & intention
Note 3: Selective intelligence in what we do
Note 4: History as a process of changes
Note 4: Ways of living & those who suffer

Turning to literature, Writings on Education, “Small is Beautiful” & “Education’s End” all explored the importance of the ideas on which we stand.

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Nature tells a story, about the planet

It’s almost astounding to think that the world around us is essentially a reflection of our position within a cosmic reality; that everything our existence depends upon and the everyday realities of our lives over the years are shaped by where we rest in the larger scheme of things.

Maybe that’s something obvious which I should take for granted more than I do, but it’s also an interesting exercise of thought. After all, our lives are pretty much defined by the rising and setting sun, the lengthening or shortening days, the activities that fill the different seasons, and the cultural variations that developed in response to it all (see Note One).

Life, culture, and often even our emotional state can be seen as largely informed by the unfolding movement of the planets. Movements in space effectively moulding our existence through the marking and passing of time: sunrise; the promise or disappointment of weather; seasonal associations of growth, warmth, abundance, or otherwise; memories, frustrations, colour itself; then the enfolding calm of the night.

It’s just interesting. It’s this daily reality that we may be innately inclined to ignore (given how anything consistent seems to generally become as if invisible to the human mind). So, all the while there’s this reassuring regularity in nature, we may well drift into taking it all as a given.

And maybe that’s also partly because it’s so out of our control. Spending time contemplating the revolution of earth within an almost incomprehensible sense of space, guided by forces we may or may not fully understand, could be a questionable use of time. What can we do about it, and what’s the point in thinking about things we can do nothing about?

Appreciate them, I suppose. That sense of reverence for the magnitude of existence and respect for those things we don’t understand. Gratitude maybe, and responsibility for a possibly precarious state of balance. There’s many ways of approaching that which is outside our control, but also still effectively within it (Notes Two).

Sometimes I write about seeking the bigger picture, and it may well be that zooming out to the planetary is too far and risks losing a useful perspective; but it does offer quite a wonderful example of a consistent and integrated system capable of giving rise to some pretty perfect conditions. The principles of balance, renewal and harmony woven throughout the natural world and its planetary causes might actually be a good picture to keep in mind.

And I might be being almost deliberately naïve and poetic in this, but that’s because modern thinking often seems to cast some things aside that maybe could be worth keeping and reworking into a newer form.

I mean, our world is literally a depiction of our place in the cosmos; and nearly everything that makes up our cultures, societies, and personal lives is marked by that reality. It may not be a thought that ‘goes anywhere’, at least not directly, but it still seems important to note.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Culture and the passing of time
Note 2: Spirit as the invisible
Note 2: At what cost, for humans & for nature
Note 2: Aesthetic value of nature
Note 2: Living the dream

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Selective intelligence in what we do

When it comes to how we live, how much thought are we really putting into it? It seems we pour quite a lot into the specifics of the things we’re doing, but maybe not so much into the bigger picture of what it means, how it all fits together, and where it might be leading.

I mean, if we were presented with this way of living and had all its realities, reasoning, and justifications laid out before us, would we choose it? Of course, that’s not how society works; we slip into it, accept how things are, and sooner or later it becomes something we cannot question. But originally it was a set of ideas, a project, a theory (see Notes One).

Yet we can think things through; we can see if some of it doesn’t completely make sense or could be problematic (Notes Two). Such thoughts may often get pushed aside or dismissed out of powerless resignation but that doesn’t stop them being relevant, true or important.

We live in a world where nothing’s made to last because, as a business model, that makes better sense; even if that leads us into an apparently endless cycle of consumerism, waste, and the demand for more resources. So we all live with manufactured desires for more in order to feel better and fit into society; or we might carve an identity by resisting that; either way, it’s the same system.

So much of what we’re doing is really quite strange: news cycles of novelty, escapism, fear or despair; industries built around excessive and needless consumption; an odd infantilisation of adult life, social media and culture. Yet this is also being held up as some kind of pinnacle, an idea to be sold onto others and exported on a global scale.

And that’s not to say that there’s not a great deal to be valued, prized and appreciated in the achievements of Western society; because, within that original set of ideas, there are many highly important ideals around freedom, responsibility, social equality, and the pursuit of progress. My point is more that we seem to have become side-tracked by a lot of clearly lucrative but ultimately senseless things.

We’re undeniably intelligent beings, capable of developing systems and finding new ways of understanding; and that power of reasoning led to many of those wonderful ideals underpinning modern society. Yet, at some point, the importance of reason seems to have been conveniently downplayed as we’re encouraged to behave based on another logic and forget that bigger picture.

How do we reconcile simultaneously living in a society based on reason and causality, yet ignoring some fairly obvious inconsistencies? Might that risk undermining our intelligent engagement as citizens in those systems of information, democracy and regulation we all rely upon (Notes Three)?

Maybe it’s not a problem and we can trust others are being responsible in this; but it’s surely also reasonable to ask why things are the way they are and if it might matter.

Notes and References:

Note 1: People, rules & social cohesion
Note 1: Writings on Education
Note 2: Does it all balance out?
Note 2: At what cost, for humans & for nature
Note 3: “Brave New World Revisited”
Note 3: “Manufacturing Consent”
Note 3: Laws and lawlessness

Ideas of the bigger picture get explored further in Intrinsic values on the paths for change? and How do we find a collective vision?

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Music and its power to inspire

The idea of music is quite fascinating: that by creating in the world of sound we might also serve to create belonging, mutual understanding, participation, and common feeling. It seems that’s always been part of human society, as a way of setting the tone, marking the passing time, or shifting the mood. Essentially, a way we give meaning to our lives and express our selves.

That sense of self-expression – and being heard by others – seems a big part of it: sharing what matters to us within life, society, or the human condition. Music seems to really connect to our humanity, whether in isolation or togetherness, speaking to the soul and the emotions.

In a way, it takes our personal experiences and makes them general – even universal – through demonstrating how many others feel the same things. The idea of being alone in a crowd yet connected with everyone. How, through being present in the moment, we might take ourselves along on a different journey and feel part of shared human experience.

It’s strange to think how much this is part of our lives: the music that’s accompanied us in difficult or beautiful times, weaving its way through personal and collective experiences, becoming a journey of memory. Songs that resonate with us then serving to mark the stages of our lives, ways we’ve grown, and those feelings we’ve struggled or dwelt with.

Because, in the face of how we feel, what we choose to listen to may presumably serve to reinforce or alleviate our moods and preoccupations. Music seems a powerful thing, capable of shaping emotion in ways we don’t entirely understand. It might soothe our soul and help us find new ways, or effectively trap us in familiar grooves of feeling.

The power of culture to shape the meaning of our lives and engage us in deeper conversations is so interesting (see Notes One). Which is also what I’m wanting to talk about: artists who consciously use their music to inspire, create awareness, and speak to that more universal human condition.

I’ve said before that I have reservations around activism; not because there’s not cause for it, but due to the forms it often takes (Notes Two). For me, paths to change are more through truth and understanding, through individuals freely seeing the value and the wisdom of certain ideas and ways of being.

And, in that, musicians concerned with their humanity can often touch on ideas which have that power. I’m thinking of people like Michael Franti (particularly his albums “Stay Human” and “Yell Fire!”) or maybe Ani DiFranco’s “Knuckle Down”. Music exploring love, involvement, courage, tolerance, conflict, citizenship, and hope among other things.

Expressing experiences or ideas in ways others can come to understand and relate to surely creates opportunities for learning from one another and shedding light on the things that affect us all. And, if we’re each on this journey of finding our place within humanity as a community, music seems a fairly wonderful method of communication.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Culture, art & human activity
Note 1: Missing something with modern culture?
Note 1: Thoughts on art & on life
Note 2: Modern activism in practice
Note 2: Does truth speak for itself?
Note 2: People wanting change

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At what cost, for humans & for nature

Writing recently about the bigger picture of how we do things, I was trying to get a sense for the value of what tends to get side-lined as a result of looking mainly to our financial concerns (see Note One). If we were to see modern society as a balance sheet, what are those hidden costs we’re rarely taking into account that might be storing up fairly considerable problems down the line?

Clearly there are environmental costs there, as it’s been quite well documented and reasoned that our ways of living don’t really pay much regard to the natural world in terms of resources or wastefulness (Notes Two).

It’s strange in many ways, how we seem to chipping away at the land beneath our feet. Maybe telling ourselves it’s not our problem; we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them; that it’s very remote and we’re technically doing nothing wrong so we’re not liable. As if we’re counting on future humanity to design a solution for what we’ve created; a sort of ingenuity debt we’re saddling onto our future.

Maybe that comes down to burden of proof: that it’s hard to definitively make a case that what we’re doing isn’t okay, that any one idea or action can be held responsible. Even if common sense might see it’s out of balance and seems unlikely to be the wisest path.

And then, looking to the human side, all that seems to become even murkier: how can we assess the social or personal cost of the ideas at play in how we’re living? What does is mean in a human sense if we view life as a marketplace, a competition, a fight for survival? If we look on others as rivals, objects of comparison, people we have every right to casually judge (Notes Three)?

We might be encouraged into all these ways of behaving and consuming that feed off our social inclinations to belong, be seen as unique, or feel worthwhile; but what does all that bring into our relationships as a society? Surely we’re allowing, even reinforcing, these cultural ideas that basically say we’re never enough, need more, and must set ourselves apart from others.

The human psyche may well be an almost bottomless source of needs, desires, insecurities, and whatever else marketing is designed to appeal to; but does that mean it should be drawn into the marketplace of modern economics? Does that serve us well as a society or as individuals?

It’s something that concerns me greatly, as these other areas of life seem to be struggling to find a voice capable of challenging the economic realities currently holding such sway within modern society. Because while what we’re doing to the natural world and to other people (both within our own societies and those hidden within our economic systems) may appear invisible, it’s still a reality.

These things may happen out of sight, seemingly always the responsibility of others, but ultimately they’re all part of the same system.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Does it all balance out?
Note 2: Waste and consumer choices
Note 2: Is sustainable design an impossibility?
Note 2: “Small is Beautiful”
Note 2: Living the dream
Note 3: Culture selling us meaning
Note 3: People, rules & social cohesion
Note 3: Morality and modern thought
Note 3: “The Spirit of Community”

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The worth of each life

Often when writing I find myself wandering into philosophy and thinking about the nature of human life; and I suspect that’s because it seems to me that society should serve humanity. Surely societies arose to serve humans, to structure activities and stories so communities could sustain themselves with both resources and a sense of identity, purpose or meaning. That seems one way of conceptualising it, at least.

So when talking about things like economics or modern culture, I find myself looking at what it all means for us as individuals – for each and every human existing within these systems of production, consumption, marketing, and social status (see Notes One).

Which I find interesting, because it could be labelled as political or idealistic or in some way spiritual but it’s also simply a human philosophy: that each of us matters; that we all contribute in countless ways to the systems we inhabit; and that economic worth or power doesn’t necessarily correlate in the slightest to personal value.

Because when it comes to modern society it seems our estimations are generally financial: we look at worth, at the value of our contributions, at the status and lifestyle all that buys us. But, more than that, our lives also serve to maintain or uphold important social systems built upon our values, character, principles and convictions, relationships, and involvement.

The words and attitudes we extend to others and display in our daily lives surely underpin society in ways we may not even understand let alone fully appreciate (Notes Two). The way we are gives a human face to how we’re all living and the ideas embodied there. If we choose to be honest, consistent, caring, and take time to relate genuinely to others then who’s to say that doesn’t vastly outweigh those other ways of quantifying our value for society?

What matters more at the end of the day? Of course, financial realities do matter and have a real impact on how we may spend our time and feel about ourselves; but that way of seeing things also seems to spill out into all these other areas where it arguably has no place: our worth as human beings and members of society should have nothing to do with money.

And it just bothers me in countless ways when aspects of our shared cultural life effectively get reduced to money, to the clothes and makeup and other lifestyle choices that cloak our true worth or seek to sell us something. All the times certain things are praised and others mocked, when they’re almost completely outside our control. Culture often seems more divisive than inclusive, and more commercial than anything else.

Sometimes I wonder if this way of reflecting on life even matters that much; if understanding what’s going on and how it might be affecting us is that important when ultimately it’s simply ‘how things are’ (Notes Three). But to say it doesn’t matter is to say we don’t matter; and I think we do.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Created a system we seek to escape?
Note 1: Ways of living & those who suffer
Note 2: Mirrors we offer one another
Note 2: Does it matter if others suffer?
Note 2: “People Skills”
Note 3: Intrinsic values on the paths for change?
Note 3: How do we find a collective vision?

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Ways of living & those who suffer

In talking about the mind previously, I’ve considered the idea that conditions such as depression or anxiety might be reasonable responses to modern life: that the world we live in may be fostering such outlooks through the levels of meaning and respect afforded to us.

I mean, we’re effectively born into social systems which set us up to struggle against almost innate inequalities (see Notes One); and it doesn’t seem unreasonable that some might see little point or security in walking that path. We’re offered very little meaning or sense of our own worth since modern thinking stripped belief, tradition, and many reassuring social conventions or niceties from how we live.

After all we’re not mindless creatures. We have immense capacity for understanding alongside deep inner lives of feeling. Yet, as a start, life itself isn’t easy: this human condition of separation with its struggles for security, acceptance, belonging, and worth; all the while reconciling ourselves with the finite and ever-changing nature of existence. And, within society, we can surely see everyone’s essentially the same, even if history made some better off (and often at the cost of others).

The mind has to live with it all. We live within systems of competition that seek advantage, differentiation, profit. We have to somehow justify these things and accommodate all the subtle shades of judgement we allow in how we label or relate to others (Notes Two).

Society – how we live, the ideas we spin – may not be this remote construct so much as the lived meanings we give to our existence: we all occupy certain places within that system; living that reality, feeling it, and being told that’s our “worth” in material as well as psychological terms (Note Three). Society’s ideas come to life through us all, and if those ideas happen to be slightly mistaken then we risk getting hurt.

So should ‘the meaning of life’ be this elusive, laughable search we wait for people to grow out of? Or is it something we hope to find within our communities, within society, within the ideas and options we’re presented?

Western society seems based largely around ideas of wealth, exploitation or competition that spill from our economic activities into almost all other areas of our lives (Note Four); a sort of ‘survival of the fittest’ attitude towards human existence and how best to organise it. And that can seem a little inhuman to me, almost coldly rational, careless and transactional.

Because, beneath it all, we’re all still human: people seeking meaning and belonging, looking to make constructive contributions and often just live a simple, decent life with those we love. Not to fight for basic courtesy, but for society to be sensibly coordinated out of respect for the dignity and importance of each human life.

How aware we are of the implications behind the systems we live within and attitudes we express seem essential questions, because I wonder if deep down we don’t sense the disparities and struggle to accept them.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Does it matter if others suffer?
Note 1: Mental health as a truth to be heard
Note 1: What inspires all of this
Note 2: Complicity and cultural attitudes
Note 2: How many aren’t well represented?
Note 3: Intrinsic worth over social identity
Note 4: Does it all balance out?

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Does it all balance out?

When it comes to how we live, everything we do bears consequences: whatever we take has to come from somewhere, anything we make has to find somewhere to be, and all of these accumulated actions must inevitably add up. What is that bigger picture? And how well do our values, priorities and intentions find a place within it all?

Economics is clearly highly complex and interconnected, as ideas and strategies alter the course of what we engage in and how it all works out in practice. Basically though, it’s how we interact with the world around us to get what we need (see Note One).

As humans, we essentially draw upon our environment to meet our requirements for food, shelter, culture, security, and so on. As time’s gone by those activities have developed into the forms we see today: often, slightly more abstract ways of working and slightly more impulsive ways of spending what we can earn.

It’s interesting, all the things we do. Sometimes I wonder at what someone living a hundred years ago would make of it all. Because surely everything creates a reality, having an impact on others and on the systems we’re all part of. Waste, overconsumption, and the acceptance of novelty all seem signs of a civilisation somewhat detached from real world consequences (Notes Two).

And I’m not entirely sure where this ideal of consumption and wealth came from; that we should let money work for us and spend on things no one truly needs. Life apparently went from a struggle for survival and a pursuit of excellence to a rather indulgent sense of window dressing.

That’s a bit bleak, but my point is that modern life often leaves me more than a little mystified: rather than being about responsibility, balance, ideals and self-restraint, it has gradually become about these other things which often fly in the face of all that. Did the realities of life change, or did we buy into this idea of deserving it and that, in the end, everyone else will be raised to the same level?

I suppose it’s this basic premise of prosperity being something to work towards, and how our economic systems have sought to build that. Systems then having a logic of their own: a desire for stability, for growth, for constant resources and markets. A way of thinking that’s apparently made its way into many areas of life, shaping how we now see things (Notes Three).

It seems we’re also beginning to see some  consequences of that in terms of waste, resources, social problems, and unrest. And, alongside this, a growing awareness that while we may pay attention to revenue, cost and profit, we could also see things for their personal, social and environmental value.

The give and take of life, interpreted in a certain way, has brought us to this point; but it may also be time to draw a line under one-sided ways of thinking and begin working more harmoniously within that bigger picture.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Money as a pivot of matter & intention
Note 2: What are the true costs?
Note 2: Waste and consumer choices
Note 2: Is sustainable design an impossibility?
Note 3: Why listen to media that exists to profit?
Note 3: Fashion, self & environment
Note 3: Culture selling us meaning

Touching into literature, “Small is Beautiful” discusses many issues underpinning and directing our economic systems.

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Zimbardo & the problem of evil

The question of what is evil and what can be done about it is surely an age-old human concern, represented in various ways within different cultures and religions since the beginning of time. And the Tim Ferriss podcast with Dr Philip Zimbardo brings the issue quite nicely into the present day (link below).

It’s essentially a conversation about how to ‘avoid being evil’ drawing on Dr Zimbardo’s work as a psychologist and involvement in the Stanford Prison Experiment, and outlining some basic principles for strengthening your moral compass and becoming aware of the various social or systemic factors that might bypass that and lead us down paths without our really knowing.

All of which is pretty interesting as that experiment highlights how quickly humans can be broken down by their surroundings and lose their sense of right, wrong, and reality itself. The human mind and the power social environment has over it seem essential to grapple with if we hope to understand and be sure of ourselves.

Because one of the clearest truths about humanity seems to be that we’re capable of great things but also undeniably terrible ones (see Note One). How to be clear on that, to understand the nature of “evil” and be sure we’re walking the right path seems incredibly important and also far from straightforward.

After all, what is evil? Is it always this black and white, crystal clear, labelled thing that we’re sure to notice when we see it? Or is it a nuanced, maybe elusive, contorted sense of imbalance that we might conceivably be drawn into through a series of ideas, assumptions, compromises, and loose interpretations of what’s going on?

While these are issues mainly for psychologists and historians, they arguably concern us all. And many of the recommendations Dr Zimbardo has are both simple and powerful: to be aware of the ‘first steps’ towards evil; the risk of seeing anyone as ‘less than human’; the empowerment of anonymity; the inclination to obedience or conformity; and the importance of our social environment in shaping what we see as acceptable.

Drawing out what that means in terms of society, education, parenting, technology, culture, belief, and personal development is clearly a massive undertaking with far-reaching implications for how we live (Notes Two).

Where does society learn these things? Because if we take “evil” to be a kind of extreme form of ‘normal’ psychology – a putting of self before the interests of others, a disregard for social conventions – then we’re wandering into the territory of morals, right and wrong, the fundamental human condition of self against others, and the very principles that serve to bind us together as human communities.

It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot, and rightly so, but it also seems far from simple to define or avoid. Having said that, finding clarity and certainty in this area seems worthwhile, as not being evil – in the big and the little ways – must be one of the more important things in life.

Notes and References:

‘The Tim Ferriss Show’ podcast on “How to Not Be Evil” https://tim.blog/2017/03/08/how-to-not-be-evil-dr-phil-zimbardo/

Note 1: The human spirit
Note 2: Laws and lawlessness
Note 2: Morality and modern thought
Note 2: Age, politics and human reasoning
Note 2: Does it matter if others suffer?
Note 2: Anger as a voice
Note 2: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves

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Thoughts on art & on life

Art, in my eyes, is like thought: it’s the ideas behind things, the meanings and relationships hiding beyond what we see; and it offers the opportunity to think more conceptually about life than mere thought might allow. Like an embodying of thought with image, so we can look at it differently and maybe understand on a deeper level than simple observation.

While the art world may be this exclusive place full of its traditions and terms, art itself seems a fundamental human function and one capable of instigating important conversations about life and the ideas that guide us (see Notes One).

Figuring out where art sits within modern society is interesting though, as we clearly live in times that are saturated with imagery and ideas that flit around so fast with varying levels of intention, responsibility and skill. Our visual landscape is essentially occupied by commercial interests or others trying to capture attention and cause us to buy into their way of thinking (Notes Two).

As with so much, the challenge seems to be one of discernment: almost anything’s possible, with the barriers of technique and audience largely overcome; but what holds real value for us, what is truly meaningful?

It’s quite a fascinating question on many levels. These days we can all churn out pictures, facts, opinions, thoughts; choosing from all we now know, all we can conceivably care about, and all the new ways of presenting things (Notes Three). There’s this almost endless font of content as we pick over the past, the present, the future, and wave upon wave of trends blended together from the accumulated riches of human civilisations.

Almost like all knowledge and capability has been placed in our hands, where we can make it our own and present that as our perspective, our identity, and our presence. And in a way that’s great, as we all have unique insights and a desire to participate in the social and cultural life of modern humanity; but it must also blur the lines around art.

I mean, we’re all artists in a sense: we look at life, we form our ideas and our personal identity, then we create an image to present to the world through our clothing, belongings, Instagram, persona, interiors, or whatever else. Life becomes our canvas.

And that’s where modern life gets kind of interesting to me: in how so many barriers have been removed within a relatively short space of time. All the traditions, constraints, and expectations that once held societies and individuals quite clearly in place. As if we lifted barriers that once held back distinct bodies of water, leaving them to churn together and find a new level.

Life has changed, and I wonder at times if art risks being swamped as these distinct cultural conversations get swept up with tides of opportunity, novelty, and the clamour for attention or profit. Wondering, and maybe worrying, about what might be lost in the time it takes to find our bearings once again.

Notes and References:

Note 1: How well does art relate to life?
Note 1: Culture, art & human activity
Note 2: Art, collaboration & commodification
Note 2: Culture selling us meaning
Note 3: History as a process of changes
Note 3: Pre-tech in film

Ideas around what happens when the world we perceive becomes darker are explored further within Aesthetic value of nature.

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