Re: Dispelling the "Man the Mighty Hunter" Myth

usual suspect wrote:

> ta wrote:
> <snip blustery bullshit>

>     From Library Journal
>     This is one of a number of recent books that trace both
>     environmental destruction and social oppression to the Western
>     world view

> Sentence should end there. Mason is a leftist prat whose anti-capitalist 
> views make everything Western "wrong."

But an opposition to "the" (make that "a" or "various" ) Western world
views is not necessarily anti-capitalist.  Some of the worst ecological
destruction has taken place in areas controlled by anti-capitalist
regimes, such as the former Soviet territories.  The worldview Mason
means, I suspect, could better be described as a relic of the Victorian
faith in progress and technology, and man's unique status above and
outside the rest of nature.

>     that sets humankind outside of, above, and in conflict with
>     nature.

> It's not a exactly Western view,

It is A Western view -- a dominant one for a good two and a half
centuries at least, with adherents going back to the Greek period.

> and it's corollary position (that 
> everything Eastern is utopian and in accord with nature) is false.

That is not a necessary corollary, either.  There is more than one
"Eastern" view as well.

> Man's 
> conflict with nature transcends culture and geography. The "paradigm of 
> the primitive" is specious as well. The primitive hunts and gathers, and 
> is often hunted himself.

I.e. -- primitive technology is less developed.  That does not mean
the worldview of "primitive" (which should be defined) peoples is
less valuable than that of the more technologically developed cultures.
As C.S. Lewis put it, the pre-literate cultures which made the worst
pottery might have made the best poetry, and we would never know it.

> I don't think Mason would trade in his laptop 
> for life in the jungle. He's too conditioned by life in the Ivory Tower, 
> and he'd have to endure the shattering of his mythic delusions.

>     What makes this work unique is the emphasis he places on the
>     relationship between human beings and other animals as both
>     explaining and symbolizing our dysfunctional way of life with
>     its built-in patriarchy, misogyny, and racism.

> This sums up his book in a nutshell. Mason has co-written with Peter 
> Singer, so you already know his AR background. What he spells out now is 
> the rest of the effete views held by the radical elite today. One again, 
> Mason upholds the mythical "paradigm of the primitive" while failing to 
> note that women in such societies are literally barefoot and pregnant.

Men are usually barefoot, too.  As for pregnant: studies of tribes such
as the aboriginal tribes of Australia have shown that "primitive"
cultures do control fertility in various ways, such as prolonging the
period of nursing, which makes women less likely to become pregnant.
Most pre-industrial societies (if not all) also know about herbal
contraceptives and abortificants.  Also, in pre-industrial societies,
with higher infant mortality, fertility is often good. Things are not
as simple as you make them out.  Women's ability to produce new life 
often makes them figures of power in "primitive" tribes, where they
are more respected than in some "Western" cultures.

>     "Dominionism" justifies merciless exploitation of the earth and
>     its creatures for human wealth and pleasure, but it has left a
>     deep psychic wound.

> The primitive, too, uses his surroundings to his advantage and exercises 
> dominion in the jungle.

I question that he exercises "dominion."

> Other creatures represent the primitive's food 
> and clothing, his sustenance in a rough environment. The "psychic wound" 
> is only experienced in the West, and only by the hypersensitive and 
> mentally ill ARAs and "ethical vegans."

It is experienced by many people in both Western and non-Western
cultures, including those who had been members of tribal or
non-Western cultures and who moved to a "Western" culture.  The
sense of malaise is widespread today, among many groups.  I would
say very few people in the modern world are entirely comfortable
with the spiritually empty self-satisfaction of the worldview you
evidently advocate.

>     In pursuing his argument Mason (coauthor with Peter Singer of
>     Animal Factories , LJ 6/1/80) piles up powerful and provocative
>     examples and insights.

> No, it's mostly colorful sophistry, strawmen, and mythology masquerading 
> as academic insight. His examples are specious, and his insights are 
> flawed by illogic and the paradigm of the primitive.

ipse dixit -- some examples, please.

>     He is less successful in convincing the reader of the
>     sufficiency of his overall thesis...

> Which supports my previous statement.

But is not necessarily true....

> The Library Journal review was on the Amazon website:
> http://tinyurl.com/wetz

Rat