> We need to learn to relate to Nature as I-Thou (not I-It.) The vast majority of our problem right now is our divorce from Nature and our attempt to relate to Her as I-It.
It was the I-It relation that enabled science. Before that, nature was full of myth and divinity and thereby inscrutable. After the scientific revolution, nature became it, subject to laws and open to manipulation for our benefit.
Going back to an I-Thou relationship with major would be a huge step backward and harmful to humanity.
You're right! I imagine that if we did just "go back to Nature" we would forget and do this all over again in a few thousand years, eh?
We need a new synthesis that incorporates our scientific knowledge with the deeper reality around us. That's exactly why I find TFA and Levin's work so fascinating: science is discovering that life thinks, which discovery then forms a bridge between the "mystic" experiential communing with nature and the "hard" rational-materialistic science.
It was the I-It relation that enabled science. Before that, nature was full of myth and divinity and thereby inscrutable. After the scientific revolution, nature became it, subject to laws and open to manipulation for our benefit.
Going back to an I-Thou relationship with major would be a huge step backward and harmful to humanity.