Carolyn Merchant
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Merchant is an American
ecofeminist
philosopher
and historian of science most famous for her theory (and book of the same title) on 'The Death of Nature', whereby she identifies the Enlightenment as the period when science
began to atomize, objectify and dissect nature, foretelling its eventual conception as inert. Her works were important in the development of environmental history
and the history of science
.
She writes, "The female earth
was central to organic cosmology
that was undermined by the Scientific Revolution
and the rise of a market
-oriented culture...for sixteenth-century Europe
ans the root metaphor binding together the self, society
and the cosmos
was that of an organism
...organismic theory emphasized interdependence among the parts of the human body, subordination of individual to communal purposes in family
, community, and state
, and vital life permeate the cosmos to the lowliest stone." (Merchant, The Death of Nature, 1980: 278)
Merchant tells us that prior to the Enlightenment, Nature was conceived of as the benevolent mother of all things, albeit sometimes wild. This metaphor was to gradually be replaced by the 'dominion' model as the Scientific Revolution rationalized and dissected nature to show all her secrets. As nature revealed her secrets, so too she was able to be controlled. Both this intention and the metaphor of 'nature unveiled' is still prevalent in scientific language. Conceptions of the Earth as nurturing bringer of life began slowly to change to one of a resource to be exploited as science became more and more confident that human minds could know all there was about the natural world and thereby affect changes on it at will. Merchant cites Francis Bacon
's use of female metaphors to describe the exploitation of nature at this time was telling: "she is either free,...or driven out of her ordinary course by the perverseness, insolence and forwardness of matter and violence of impediments...or she is put in constraint, molded and made as it were new by art and the hand of man; as in things artificial...nature takes orders from man and works under his authority" (Bacon in Merchant 1990: 282). Nature must be "bound into service" and made a slave to the human ends of regaining our dominion over nature lost in the 'fall from grace' in Eden.
In combination with increasing industrialization and the rise of capitalism
that simultaneously replaced women's work like weaving
with machinery, and subsumed their roles as subsistence agriculturists also drove people to live in cities, further removing them from nature and the effects of industrialised production on it. The combined effects of industrialization, scientific exploration of nature and the ascendancy of the dominion/domination metaphor over the nurturing Mother Earth one, according to Merchant, can still be felt in social and political thought, as much as it was evident in the art, philosophy and science of the 16th century.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ecofeminist
Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism is a social and political movement which points to the existence of considerable common ground between environmentalism and feminism, with some currents linking deep ecology and feminism...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and historian of science most famous for her theory (and book of the same title) on 'The Death of Nature', whereby she identifies the Enlightenment as the period when science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
began to atomize, objectify and dissect nature, foretelling its eventual conception as inert. Her works were important in the development of environmental history
Environmental history
Environmental history, a branch of historiography, is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time. In contrast to other historical disciplines, it emphasizes the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs. Environmental historians study how humans both shape their...
and the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
.
She writes, "The female earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
was central to organic cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
that was undermined by the Scientific Revolution
Scientific revolution
The Scientific Revolution is an era associated primarily with the 16th and 17th centuries during which new ideas and knowledge in physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and chemistry transformed medieval and ancient views of nature and laid the foundations for modern science...
and the rise of a market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
-oriented culture...for sixteenth-century Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans the root metaphor binding together the self, society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
and the cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...
was that of an organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
...organismic theory emphasized interdependence among the parts of the human body, subordination of individual to communal purposes in family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, community, and state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
, and vital life permeate the cosmos to the lowliest stone." (Merchant, The Death of Nature, 1980: 278)
Merchant tells us that prior to the Enlightenment, Nature was conceived of as the benevolent mother of all things, albeit sometimes wild. This metaphor was to gradually be replaced by the 'dominion' model as the Scientific Revolution rationalized and dissected nature to show all her secrets. As nature revealed her secrets, so too she was able to be controlled. Both this intention and the metaphor of 'nature unveiled' is still prevalent in scientific language. Conceptions of the Earth as nurturing bringer of life began slowly to change to one of a resource to be exploited as science became more and more confident that human minds could know all there was about the natural world and thereby affect changes on it at will. Merchant cites Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
's use of female metaphors to describe the exploitation of nature at this time was telling: "she is either free,...or driven out of her ordinary course by the perverseness, insolence and forwardness of matter and violence of impediments...or she is put in constraint, molded and made as it were new by art and the hand of man; as in things artificial...nature takes orders from man and works under his authority" (Bacon in Merchant 1990: 282). Nature must be "bound into service" and made a slave to the human ends of regaining our dominion over nature lost in the 'fall from grace' in Eden.
In combination with increasing industrialization and the rise of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
that simultaneously replaced women's work like weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
with machinery, and subsumed their roles as subsistence agriculturists also drove people to live in cities, further removing them from nature and the effects of industrialised production on it. The combined effects of industrialization, scientific exploration of nature and the ascendancy of the dominion/domination metaphor over the nurturing Mother Earth one, according to Merchant, can still be felt in social and political thought, as much as it was evident in the art, philosophy and science of the 16th century.
See also
- List of ecofeminist authors
- Debora HammondDebora HammondDebora Hammond is an American historian of science, Provost and Professor Interdisciplinary Studies of the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at the Sonoma State University...
- Celeste NewbroughCeleste NewbroughCeleste Newbrough is an American novelist, essayist, poet, and painter. She is the daughter of Norita Massicot Newbrough, a Southern representation painter and lives in Berkeley, California and in Santa Fe, New Mexico....
- Georg AgricolaGeorg AgricolaGeorgius Agricola was a German scholar and scientist. Known as "the father of mineralogy", he was born at Glauchau in Saxony. His real name was Georg Pawer; Agricola is the Latinised version of his name, Pawer meaning "farmer"...
- John MuirJohn MuirJohn Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
- Managerial ecology