In the face of #climate #crisis it might seem myopic but philosophers from #Spinoza to #Næss argue it is the only way forward

source: https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-face-the-climate-crisis-with-spinoza-and-self-knowledge

We see this fundamental tendency not only in humans but also in trees, bees and geese, and even inanimate objects such as tables, mountains and rocks. Things don’t spontaneously disintegrate and they tend to keep their form over time; even something seemingly transient like a fire will try to keep itself going. How can we understand this universal drive? Næss situates the conatus in a bigger picture of nature, namely, one that helps us to persevere and affirm ourselves as expressions of nature. Spinoza argued that there is only one substance, which he called ‘God’ or ‘God or nature’. Nature and God are coextensive, as God encompasses all of reality. So, Spinoza’s God is similar to what we now call ‘the universe’, the totality of all that is. This totality expresses itself in infinitely many modes, such as thought and physical bodies. We, like everything else, are expressions of this one substance.

#nature #earth #universe #god #philosophy #humanity