Flannel Ethics in Practice

I made a collage of pictures I took when planting trees on Arbor day. Planting trees shows flannel ethics in practice. I added one of the actual pictures so everyone can see what the pictures kind of look like. The pictures illustrate how flannel ethics offer a rational and fun way to help the enviroment!

For my project to conclude this class, I have drawn two pictures that compliment each other. The first image is of a human face with tiger eyes. The second is of human eyes in a tiger’s face. The point of these pieces is to convey the idea that there are ways to communicate that do not involve words. I believe that the eyes are one of the most expressive parts of the body, and the kind of emotions and ideas that can be articulated through the eyes can be more meaningful than any words or sounds uttered from the mouth. I think that looking into someone’s eyes can reveal the heart and soul of that person and bond two people together. The reason I chose to show each face with the other creature’s eyes is to pose the question, “What if we could see the world through another’s eyes?” A common argument against recognizing the interest and worth of an animal is the fact that they do not have the capacity for speech. However, in emphasizing the eyes, I make the point that speech is a very limited form of communication and this nonverbal form can be much more effective. If humans could see the world through the eyes of a tiger and communicate with them, perhaps they would recognize the sentient being within, not the source of fur coats on the surface. Because of this longing for knowledge and understanding, the human’s tiger eyes are large and hungry. They are wanting and searching for that connection.
The tiger is draw with human eyes because, even though it may appear anthropomorphic, I think the only way humans can understand animals is in relating what they see to their own lives and experiences. Because of this, my tiger uses human eyes to convey his message. The right eye on the tiger’s face is open, expressing a willingness to communicate wisdom and insight into its life as well as an honesty of response. The left eye is closed and has a single tear falling from it. This eye illustrates the sadness and heartbreak involved in being treated as less than worthy of respect and compassion. If creatures could share eyes and find a common form of communication, imagine what we could learn from each other.

My work of art represents the class. The four larger corners represent the philosophers that we read as well as modern thinking. The inner four colors represent the four elements and the inner sphere represents the Earth. The black lines between the corners and the elements make them remain separate, however, the only thing that is not separated is the Earth which is an amalgamation of the 4 colors I used to represents the four elements. The upper right corner represents Ezarim Kohak. The blue and the green are mildly reminiscent of the colors on the cover os his book The Green Halo. However, the colors are interwoven in with the green and are intended, in their style, to somewhat represent his flannel ecological perspective. The lack f any solid pattern in this quadrant was intended to represent Kohak’s broad views as well as how many points of view he put forth in his book. The bottom right corner represents Bill McKibben’s book The End of Nature. Once again the colors chosen are reminiscent of the cover art on his book. The orange form in the middle represents the dead nature, like the canary did on his book cover. However, the red that shoots out around it represents its rising like a phoenix. This was to represent McKibben’s book because although he is grave about the end of nature, he is not despairing or melancholic. The bottom left corner represents Mary Midgley and her work Animals and why they Matter. The yellow base represents her encompassing philosophy of nature, as well as her covering of all the possible angles of a situation. The red flames wicking up represent her firebrand nature.
The upper left corner represents the modern world. The red, white, and blue do not necessarily represent America, but all the countries that have since adopted liberalism. This is also to represent the Enlightenment, because that was when man first stopped looking at nature as ‘mother nature’, as in the middle ages and the ancient eras. The rigidity of the colors is supposed to appear manufactured when compared to the flowing colors of the rest of the painting.
In conclusion, the Earth is represented by the orb in the center. This orb contains all of the colors used to represent the four elements. Also none of the corners touch the center, purely the elements. This was done to show how elemental the Earth was, and how far apart we are removed from it. The black lines that edge each section shows hoe some of the corners use the same colors, but they never full touch. This represents how each writer we have looked at has had their own very unique perspective on the question of ecological ethics.

The Human Change of Nature

This project shows how different aspects of nature have changed. The first picture in each series shows how the earth used to be before humans made their impact on it. This is what I consider the real nature. This shows how nature used to be so magical, gorgeous, and pure. In almost all of the series there is a middle picture. This picture shows what nature looks like with a small human impact. In these pictures, the real nature can still be seen, but there is obviously an artificial human influence that has altered nature. In some cases, these artificial and somewhat small impacts resemble aspects of the real nature. The last pictures in the series show how big of change humans have made on nature. In many of these pictures, it is very difficult to see where the real nature exists anymore. In these pictures, the real nature does not even exist or is a very minute spots in our artificial structures. Many of these pictures also show how we have tried to resemble parts of nature with our constructions. For example, there is a two picture series that shows how the highway roads we have created that look like tangled messes resemble the rivers that nature has created itself.

The main purpose of this project was to show how big of an impact human progress has made. Such progress has slowly been causing nature to disappear as more and more artificial structures take over. I found it very interesting how I could find similar pictures with different levels of human impact in them. What I hope people can take from this is to realize that we need a drastic change if we still want to have the real nature as a part of this world.

Artistic Piece

This piece draws from a number of sources from the semester. On a whole, it evokes a general feel of the dichotomy between the natural world and desolation and pollution by man. It draws from Koyaanisqatsi and the books regarding the pollution and death of the natural world.
On the upper half, the waterfall on the left flows with clear, pure water, implying an undisturbed and precious resource. The green forest to either side of the water is full of life and rebirth. The trees and bird in the upper right again show the nature that is endangered by the actions of man. The reflecting lake below the trees shows the lack of pollution, as does the clear blue sky with a single white cloud. The bird stands contentedly on a branch untouched by destruction.
On the lower half, a garbage truck empties its load onto a giant trash heap. The splashes of color on the dull gray of the plastics and other debris show the unnecessary waste of useful items and recyclable materials carelessly thrown away. Streaks of paint in the sky imply the scavenging birds whose only source of food now is the refuse of man, for all normal sources of food are dead or driven away. The smokestack to the right releases billowing grayish-brown smog into the air, across the clean, pure nature in the top half of the piece. Its polluting clouds rain down into the waters, smothering and dirtying them. The smokestack rises from the barely contained trash heap to spread the pollution everywhere.

The project that never was...

I decided to post a picture of one of my ideas for a project that never came to be, because if it had, I think it would have been really cool :) This is a Keith Harring-inspired social commentary on the way humans are impacting the environment. If you can't see (because it is really tiny in the picture), at the top of the hourglass is a picture of a pretty valley at the base of a mountain, with lots of flowers and happy nature stuff. This scene is falling into the bottom of the hourglass where a polluted, exhaust-strewn scene of factories is growing. The hourglass could be turned over and this horrible trend reversed, were it not for the electrical cords that humans are indirectly pulling on through the factories, where money spews out of the smokestacks. It kind of looks funny, because my black marker ran out of ink, but you get the picture.

Here is my project. I decided to do a collage of some animals in captivity and some of their art work since my artistic ability is about equal to Koko's. Some of the more famous animals on here include Christian the Lion and Jessica the Hippo. I also added some of the artwork that animals do. Some are from Koko and Micheal and some are from animals who are trained to do it like elephants and seals. In my paper I looked at some of the moral issues that go along with having wild animals in captivity or domesticated. I also talked about how animals in captivity are put there because they can make money for their owners, whether it be doing artwork like above or being "show" animals.

GAIA

Although the picture quality is not great here, I did my project on GAIA. I thought this would be a very interesting topic to draw on because there are so many facets to the Hypothesis. Lovelock first proposed his hypothesis as a scientific view of the Earth. He believed the Earth was a self-maintaining super-organism capable of homeostasis. His hypothesis was then named after the Greek Earth goddess, GAIA. In the middle of the Earth, you can see a picture of the goddess, definitely the most time consuming part of this drawing. On the left side, I tried to illustrate the Earth as a super-organism by including blood vessels running in the same pattern as you would expect to see rivers flow. This left side shows the way Earth is supposed to be, in its most alive and natural form. On the right side of GAIA is today's world. As you can see, the blood vessels of the planet have been replaced with paved roads. The green landscape seen on the left is covered up with multiple cities and factories. These factories are all pumping the clouds of polution into the atmosphere. Also on the right side is an oil tanker ship and a giant footprint, both of which represent our carbon footprint. The goddess GAIA separates the two halfs. It is understood that our ways of life, as seen on the right side, are tearing the plant apart ecologically, which is why cracks at the top and bottom of GAIA can be seen.

Sociobiology

I thought Kohak's theory of sociobiology was very interesting. I think that many actions and feelings that we have are somewhat genetic and can be linked back to other animals that share our genetic makeup. I think that the idea that humans get their tendencies for infidelity and divorce from chimps is an interesting concept. It does make sense in the fact that similar species act in similar ways, but I do think that this human behavior cannot all be blamed on the genetic makeup. Humans are different from chimps in the fact that humans have a more complex brain and can use rationality better than chimps. Even though we have tendencies to cheat, we should be able to realize that it is wrong and prevent ourselves from doing it. I also thought the reference to wolves was interesting. Even though we are not as close in genetic makeup as chimps, we do act a lot like wolves. Wolves live in packs just like our families. When the wolves hunt, they bring back the food for the whole pack just like the parents of the family provide for the whole family. This makes it seem like we do not need a genetic similarity to explain our behavior and that blaming our tendencies on genes is not all that correct. I think humans need to take responsibility for their own actions instead of trying to find excuses for the wrong things they have done in their life. Even though I do believe that we should own up to our faults, I believe that genes do have somewhat of an influence but we should be able to reason what is right and wrong and choose against bad influences.

Flannel Ecology

Flannel ecology is the idea that we should roll up our sleeves and do some down to earth work that everyone can do. This type of ecology thinks that the least amount of damage to nature the better and that striving for perfection is not what is best. Striving for perfect ecology is impossible and unrealistic because we can never make such a dramatic change to our lives. I think flannel ecology could really work as long as everyone put in a conscious effort to try to change things. People also need to realize that we cannot continue to live the way we do now. We all need to make sacrifices and do a little work if we want things to change. I know that not all of us care about the environment and animals, but to those people I ask, "What are we going to eat when all the plants and animals we eat are gone?" The future of the human race as well as all life on earth depends on us humans trying to counteract the damage we have already done before it's entirely too late. I think that there is a lot of damage that we as humans have caused that is not able to be reversed or fixed, but even it seems impossible, there is no harm in trying. Sometimes even the smallest amount of effort can make a difference. That is what flannel ecology is about. Everyone just needs to pitch in and stop being selfish, and each person can have their own specific role that fits them. Flannel ecology also involves some other ideas from other ideas and types of ecology. This philosophy can also be seen in the practice because people from all over and from all different types of backgrounds can contribute in their own way.

Consumerism

Consumerism is a very big problem with today's society. Society makes people think that they more they have the happier they will be. So, people go out and by all the new and most expensive things so people will think higher of them. This is not always true. There are some people who see these people who strive to get the biggest and best of everything as greedy and selfish. I completely agree. People who strive to always have the biggest and the best really cannot be that happy. Maybe they have all this stuff and money, but what did they have to do to get it all? Who or what did they have to hurt in order to get where they are? I understand people wanting nice things sometimes, but there needs to be control to it. Without control, a life and society of consumerism occurs. This consumerism causes a lot of damage to the environment and animals. If companies always need to produce more, they are going to need bigger factories. If they need bigger factories, they are going to have to build one and this will probably where many animals live because that is the only place where there are not buildings already. Consumerism is also causing the demise of many animals because of their use in clothes, decorations, and food. Many animals have just been hunted because of the fact that parts of them could be used as a luxury item like rhinos for their horn and elephants for their tusks. As for use in clothes, many animals like alligators, snakes, and furred animals have been hunted to make purses, shoes, and coats. Consumerism is causing the loss of nature, and something needs to be done to limit the negative impact of consumerism.

Absolute and Relative Dismissal

The topic of absolutely dismissal and relative dismissal came up in Midgley's book. She said that absolute dismissal was the idea that we as humans have absolutely no moral obligation towards animals. There are some people that think they have this mentality. They think that animals mean absolutely nothing and are just machines. I think a lot of big companies thought this way before the green movement started. Many companies did not care about where they built their buildings and factories or what they were putting into the environment. Now, there are some laws that restrict where building can be built and what can and cannot be put into the air. Midgley mentions that no one really has the mentality of absolute dismissal. She says that absolute dismissal is actually relative dismissal in disguise. Relative dismissal is the mentality that humans do have a moral obligation to animals but they come second to human obligations. This means that the people that think they have absolute dismissal do not follow that mentality completely. From what I understood about relative dismissal, it can be exercised in many different levels. The most biocentric way is that animals have just as many rights as humans do but when it comes time to choose between human rights or animal rights the human rights take priority. I think this is the way the world today should strive to be since I believe it is impossible for humans to consider themselves complete equals with animals. Relative dismissal is about as close as we can get right now, but since it can be practiced in more ways than one, I think we need to be careful. Practicing relative dismissal in a way that is as close as it can be to absolute dismissal will not be good. This is basically having human do whatever they want but just feeling slightly bad for the damage to the environment and animals.

GAIA Hypothesis

The GAIA hypothesis was very interesting to me. It provided me with another way to look at the world. I think the idea that the earth is a super organism that is cable of self-regulation is a good way to describe the earth. As we look back as history, we can see that the earth took care of itself and regulated the life that was on it. There were many big natural events that allowed for the earth to go back to a balanced life. Life on the earth seemed to live in harmony with no one species dominating over the other. When life became unbalanced, a new natural disaster hit that wiped out a lot of the life if not all of it that existed. Once the new disaster hit, a new way of life came to exist that was now back in harmony with everything else. During this age of harmony, humans began to excel. While the population grew, so did the impact that humans had on other life. If the GAIA hypothesis is true, the earth will soon right the unbalance that humans have caused with a natural disaster. From what the research shows, the action of GAIA is global warming. Maybe GAIA's plan is to heat the earth so hot that humans are wiped out because of lack of food. No one knows what is going to happen for sure, but the GAIA hypothesis does provide one explanation for everything that has happened and could be a possible outlook for what is in store for us and the earth.

Animal Symbolism

Animal symbolism is a very interesting topic. It made me think a lot about how much animals are really used as symbols for human life. The first thing that came to my mind was the Chinese calendar. The Chinese use animals to represent certain years. These animals also represent certain characteristics that are used to predict how things are going to be as well as characteristics of people born in that year. Another example of how people use animals as symbols is in trying to judge a personality. Many people use the kind of pets people have to tell them what kind of personality a person has. According to this idea, if a person has a cat, they are said to be more calm and sophisticated. I think these kind of stereotypes can be very misleading. The species of an animal such as a dog can also be used as a symbol. Many people see certain types of dogs representing different things. For example, a beagle is a symbol of hunting, a golden retriever as a family friend, a poodle as a symbol for wealth, and a rottweiler as a symbol of viciousness and fighting. This is not just seen in dogs, but the example of the dogs is what I am most familiar with. The idea of typing types of human characteristics to animals is also used. This was seen in the Plague Dogs movie. The fox was pictured as a sly and cunning animal. Many other animals have had human characteristics tied to them as well. I think as long as animals exist we will use them as symbols for things in our lives. Even if all animals fail to exist anymore, they will still be remember in one way or another through the symbolism they were tied to.

Animal Language

The topic of whether animals have language and emotions or not was brought up in the book when discussing whether animals should have rights or not. I think that the language barrier is often used by humans in order to distinguishes ourselves from other animals. In a way, many people use the language barrier as a way to make humans seem superior to all other animals who do not have speech. I think this is a pretty poor way of making humans look superior. In reality, humans are equal with animals. We are all a part of one big nature. Humans are animals. In nature, no one animal is superior to the other. Since humans have developed speech as well as learning how to dominate most of the things around us, humans think that we are superior. Just because humans have found ways to dominate other things in nature does not mean we are superior. We developed through evolution from the same animals that we dominate and kill. We need to stop thinking that we are so superior and start acting like an equal. If we don't, then life as we know it today will drastically change. I believe that if we continue on this path of destruction and domination, we will soon become just as extinct as other animals which died out because of our actions.

Speciesism

The topic of speciesism was very interesting to me. I think it is a lot more common than what we think it is. I believe that every human and animal does use speciesism. When it comes down to a human deciding whether to save their own family member or another human or to save a family pet, almost all of us would choose to save the human being whether he or she was family or not. This example shows that we value our own kind over others. I think this is even seen in animals. When in the wild, an animal usual just stays around their own kind. If confronted with danger, they would protect their own kind rather than an animal of another species. This is especially seen with mothers and their offspring. Many animal mothers will do everything possible to protect their offspring. This is also very true of human mothers. On the other hand, pets can be the exception to showing this speciesism. This is because pets often become very attached to their owners and their property. Many dogs especially will attack other humans as well as other animals that try to harm their owners or come on their property. After writing all of this, my view on speciesism has changed. I think speciesism is mainly expressed through humans and wild social animals. The animals I exclude from this would be pets and wild animals that live a solitary life and are not social.

Yellow Paint

The topic of yellow paint that was brought up in Kohak's book was very interesting. I liked how the destruction of the earth caused by humans and humans lack of acknowledgment in order to fix it was referred to as yellow paint. I think the book really opened my eyes to how much we do really just tag things as problems but decide to deal with them later but never actually get to them. As far as the environment goes, I think there are a lot of people who "procrastinate" with the problems in the environment especially. It seems like they just think that if they ignore them they may go away or someone else will take care of them since they have marked them with "yellow paint". Our impact as humans on the entire world has greatly increased just as our population has. The more humans there are on earth, the more "nature" suffers from it. This is obvious when you look at how the landscape has changed since the pilgrims first came to America. Every since the Pilgrims landed here, the original land here in America has been destroyed gradually. Humans have known that many things that we do is destructive to the earth but it is often justified. The justification varies, but a few examples are that it is necessary for humans to live or that it is necessary for "progress". The term "progress" needs to be altered some if we want to be able to continue existence in the long run. The term "progress" has meant for a long time doing whatever it takes to have a better human life. This idea has not thought about the damage that many progressive actions have caused to the environment and animals. Today, the impact we are making on other nonhuman things has started to be incorporated into progress. I think that we still need more of this because we are running out of yellow paint, and when we do run out, will we even be able to fix the problems that we covered up with the yellow paint?