    1

    1

    1

    Mother Nature, the Bloody Bitch

    "We do not see, or we forget, that the birds which are idly singing

    around us mostly live on insects or seeds, and are thus constantly

    destroying life...."

    Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species

    "Mankind has always been cutting one another's throats....  Do

    you not believe...that hawks have always preyed upon

    pigeons...?  Then...if hawks have always had the same nature,

    what reason can you give why mankind should change theirs?"

    Voltaire, Candide

    In 1580, Michelle de Montaigne, inspired by the discovery of

    New World tribes untouched by Europe's latest complexities, initiated

    the idea of the "noble savage."  Nearly two hundred years later, Jean

    Jacques Rousseau popularized the concept when he published four

    works1 proclaiming that man is born an innocent wonder, filled with

    love and generosity, but that a Luciferian force ensnares him: modern

    civilization.  Rousseau claimed that without civilization, humans

    would never know hatred, prejudice or cruelty.

    Today, the Rousseauistic doctrine seems stronger than ever.

    Twentieth century writers and scientists like Ashley Montagu, Claude

    Levi-Strauss (who hailed Rousseau as the "father of anthropology"),

    Eric Jantsch, David Barash, Richard Leakey and Susan Sontag have

    reworked the notion to condemn current industrial civilization.  They

    have been joined by numerous feminist,2 environmentalist and

    minority rights extremists.  Even such august scientific bodies as the

    American Anthropological Association, the American Psychological

    Association, and the Peace And War Section of the American

    <<  <  GO  >  >>