Are Humans Reactive or Proactive?

Paper Summary:

The paper examines "Technology, Trauma and the Wild" by Chellis Glendinning and "The Ancient Ones," a chapter about the Anasazi in Jared Diamond's book "Collapse", which both attempt to show how humans are reactive rather than proactive. The paper first explains that an advanced culture as the Anasazi collapsed because they did not learn from their past experiences. The paper then discusses Diamond's look at the environmental problem of today and Glendinning's view of technology addicts. Additionally, the paper explains Diamond's idea that people find it difficult to stop their use of damaging activities that they have become used to and looks at how Glendinning describes the disassociate behavior that occurs when people cannot get what they feel they must have.

From the Paper:

"Why did such an advanced culture as the Anasazi collapse? According to Diamond, agriculture was such an integral aspect of this society that when the crops began to fail and finally the drought came in, they were unable to adapt. This same question is relevant today. Humans in most nations of the world are highly reliant on technology, or even addicted to it as Glendinning details, because of its benefits in health, mental and physical well being and entertainment/social life. Yet, as it is becoming increasingly known, this same technology is causing such problems as deforestation, tropical rainforests destruction, over-fishing, soil erosion and salinization, global warming, depletion of fresh water supply, energy exhaustion, toxics in air, water and soil and overpopulation. On top of this, according to Glendinning, other aspects in our society such as child abuse can also be seen as indicative of this technology addiction, as well as a possibility of beginning to disassociate if major changes occur."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carey, D. (July 31, 2007) Who's Minding the Mind? New York Times February 29, 2008http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/health/psychology/31subl.html
• Diamond, J. (2006) Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin Books.
• Garrett, K. (January 12, 2003). Why societies fail: An interview with Jared Diamond. ABC National Radio. February 28, 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s743310.htm
• Glendinning, C. Technology, trauma and the wild (1995) In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind Washington, DC: Sierra Club Books

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