Wilson's Consilience, as he points to our inability to comprehend the whole. He also 'designs' an outline to diagnose the more deep-rooted problem.Ī recurring theme in Seidel's diagnosis is reminiscent of C.P. Might he be responding to a client's rejection of environmentally sound architectural suggestions? When prudent recommendations are declined, this architect might not be content to just fashion a building to the owner's needs. Seidel, the architect, would undertake the ten-year study to write this book. He builds an ethical framework on which to construct the solutions. Solutions are going to require a more panoramic education and a deeper insight into the potential for harm. Although essential for a civilized society, organizations, in pursuing their interests, often come in conflict with each other and endanger the welfare of our species and the planet.'Īnd finally, in Part IV, Seidel discusses possible 'Solutions.' Here the author summons an insight into the effect of our actions. In Part III, the author looks at our 'Organizations.' In setting the stage, Seidel points out that 'in human society, structured organizations are needed to enable people to do the things they cannot do as individuals or informal groups. Part II is entitled 'Our Modern Society.' Through specialization, we cultivate a narrow focus, and thus fail to account for casualties beyond our purview, along the path of our so-called 'progress.' The author carefully weaves ethics and values into Part II. Moreover, our instinctive and 'ever-compelling primary drives' tend to ignore environmental casualties. In Part I, entitled 'Our Ancient Brain,' the author identifies limitations in our ability to comprehend the future. Invisible Walls is organized in four parts. It sets forth a framework to analyze the root cause of our harmful activity. The thesis progresses from ourselves, to our social life, and then to our organizations. Our ideologies, our educational systems, and our media reinforce attitudes and beliefs on a daily basis. Seidel adopts a more conciliatory attitude. Seidel labels certain beliefs, such as the notion that 'guns don't kill, people do,' as 'willful blindness.' As to other beliefs, Mr. The author, Peter Seidel, would seem to lean toward the latter, although in some cases he tends to believe the truth resides somewhere in between. Might these policies be the handmaidens of a mean-spirited, heartless plot against our children? Or are they just the actions of a misguided, albeit well- intentioned, ideology on the other side of our Invisible Walls? Why do well intentioned folk act in seemingly counter-intuitive ways toward our successors? Why do we respond to threats of global warming by demanding larger gas guzzling SUV's? Why do our zoning laws become the template for low density, land consumptive, auto- dependent, urban sprawl? Why must our economic policies be based on growth, and more growth, when no one would reasonably claim a finite planet can accommodate perpetual exponential growth? Why do we shrink from population policies when no one truly believes the earth can continue to support more people (presently the net gain is 230,000 people per day)? Why do we stock pile more nuclear waste, when there is no known plan for safe disposal? Why do we adopt policies explicitly against the interests of our children and grandchildren? and ourselves.' The adverse effects of our technology often loom far beyond our perceptive abilities. Invisible Walls is subtitled 'Why we ignore the damage we inflict on the planet. So while it is not about stone walls, it has much to do with stonewalling. It's about the imperceptible barriers within and between us.
0 kommentar(er)
