Connect
The
D
ts
exploring
of
the idea
Interconnectedness
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"It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us."
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Abstract
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In Other Words...
Although universal interconnectedness might sound like a subject limited to one's spiritual quest, or lack thereof, the argument can be multidisciplinary, as Richard Doyle posits in "Darwin's Pharmacy". One can find a mechanism, or even a "central metaphor" to describe the interconnectedness of the world in many disciplines, like how quantum energy can be seen as a "fabric" of the universe, a "breath force," a cosmic consciousness. This view of an interconnected world can serve as a one-size-fits-most model of thinking that fosters a sense of community to counteract social divisions, as well as a necessary change of rhetoric that will lead to a better relationship between humans and surrounding living systems.
“The apparent inability of humans to perceive the densely interconnected nature of their habitat threatens not only said ecosystem but the very self-definition of humanity itself as homo faber, an organism actively creating, rather than created by, her environment…. This book will suggest that indeed in responding to global climatic change we must less adapt than evolve, and this evolution begins with the recognition of plants, and the Earth itself, as a power, perhaps a superpower worthy of the name.”
Richard Doyle, “Darwin’s Pharmacy”
As I was conducting one of the interviews for this project, I was asked what this project means for me. I was tempted to take the easy route of paraphrasing my Thesis somehow, but I didn't have a definite answer. After some back and forth, I managed to draw up a satisfactory response.
This is an exercise in making connections. And what kind of connections you ask? I'm finding out as I go. Whether it's between ideas that have nothing to do with each other, whether it's personal connections or spiritual connections.
The most fundamental truth about connections is one that we most often associate with the process of upbringing children. An article from the Michigan State University Extension notes:
"Making connections is just another way to describe learning how things are related to each other and how the physical world works." (Rymanowicz 2016)
Making sense of the world starts and ends with life, and it works by making connections.
Back to the project....
This project seeks to connect some dots by answering to questions about...
...how humans connect with one another and with the world around them;
...how disciplines that seek to explain the world in one way or another can connect and explain the world together: the humanities and the science, the mysterious and the half-mysterious.
...how the world can be reimagined as one giant entity through the lens of Darwin's Pharmacy and the perspectives of four people with different professions and backgrounds.
Inspiration:
I was inspired by the book "Darwin's Pharmacy," written by rhetorics professor at Penn State University and overall ethereal citizen of the Universe, Dr. Richard Doyle.
The purpose of "Darwin's Pharmacy" is to offer a different rhetorical perspective of the relationship between the human species and the planet through language, this book offers a lot more.
Tackling ideas from entheogenic studies, philosophy, physics, biology and religion, his book feels like an exercise for grounding. It’s a practice of “informational architecture,” or a rephrasing of common ideas about humans and ecosystems in a way that finds common ground and a view of the Earth and all its components as one entity.
Read more about "Darwin's Pharmacy"
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This project seeks to connect ideas in a shared vision of what it can mean to be connected to the world.
Feeling connected to the world means learning ways to treat it better, and helping to create harmony. One can address climate change and dwindling natural resources with a feeling of compassion, not just self-preservation, while also learning to see other people as equal agents in a mission to create a better world.
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