University of Liège / Anthropology of nature and animals
The translation of this testimony was generated automatically by a translation program. Thanks for your understanding.
Disconnection
As a social scientist working in the field of environmental humanities, my main concern is the pervasive disconnection from the natural world. I think it has a deep impact on our lives, at every level, from the individual to the social. Disconnection makes us blind to the relationships and the systemic nature of socio-ecosystems. It can take many forms, but
they all converge to making our living environment devoid of meaning, where life itself is barely perceived. There is a need for rebuilding relationships with the planet and other life forms that would unfold in scientific knowledge and affectivity. I try to work on it as a teacher and researcher.
Going out of helplessness
When it comes to planet earth, bad news is everywhere. For long I have tried to find ways to escape form a deep feeling of helplessness. Then I realized that the first step was to change my own way of life. And it turned out to be a change of my value system in the end. First, I decided to stop travelling by plane. Because I am a scholar, this was a difficult decision but it changed the way I see my work. Besides, I changed many small things in order to diminish my energy consumption and ecological footprint. I became, like many people, a conscious consumer. I don’t deserve any merit for it. Next step, and much more difficult, will be to find a way to stop going to work alone in my car. This will not be easy, for practical reasons. It supposes to accept some constrains on my time schedule.
Self-restrain
For my parents, who grew up in poor families, self-restrain was bad because it was a sign of poverty. But it is just a fact that my freedom to “go anywhere wherever I want” jeopardizes my grandchildren’s freedom of leading a fulfilling life. So, to me, self-restrain is mostly a gift to them. It comes the most naturally. When my grandchildren will ask me: “what did you do for the climate?”, I don’t want to have to answer them: “nothing”
Originally posted 2018-05-08 09:55:05.