Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene 1st Edition by Clive Hamilton (PDF)

Description

Humans have become so powerful that we have disrupted the functioning of the Earth System as a whole, bringing on a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene – one in which the serene and clement conditions that allowed civilisation to flourish are disappearing and we quail before ‘the wakened giant’.The emergence of a conscious creature capable of using technology to bring about a rupture in the Earth’s geochronology is an event of monumental significance, on a par with the arrival of civilisation itself.What does it mean to have arrived at this point, where human history and Earth history collide? Some interpret the Anthropocene as no more than a development of what they already know, obscuring and deflating its profound significance. But the Anthropocene demands that we rethink everything. The modern belief in the free, reflexive being making its own future by taking control of its environment – even to the point of geoengineering – is now impossible because we have rendered the Earth more unpredictable and less controllable, a disobedient planet.At the same time, all attempts by progressives to cut humans down to size by attacking anthropocentrism come up against the insurmountable fact that human beings now possess enough power to change the Earth’s course. It’s too late to turn back the geological clock, and there is no going back to premodern ways of thinking.We must face the fact that humans are at the centre of the world, even if we must give the idea that we can control the planet. These truths call for a new kind of anthropocentrism, a philosophy by which we might use our power responsibly and find a way to live on a defiant Earth.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Defiant Earth is a major contribution to a topic that is of vital if not pre-eminent importance today. The book is highly original in its synthesis of the scientific, philosophical and religious issues raised by the coming of the ‘Anthropocene.’ Hamilton mines each of these traditions for ways to make sense of the new and frightening epoch that is upon us.” – Adrian Wilding, University of Jena, Germany “For those entertaining the idea that we should just rocket away from an overheated planet to some new world, or perhaps fill the atmosphere with sulphur to block out the sun, here’s a remarkably powerful accounting of our actual responsibility–past, present, and future.” – Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature “Earth system scientists’ idea of the Anthropocene has given rise to two seemingly rival camps of thought in the humanities: there are those who want to fold the idea back into new histories of global capital, and those who have used the debate to move towards a new philosophical anthropology. Clive Hamilton has been an original, important, and distinctive voice in this debate. Defiant Earth goes a long way towards bridging the distance between these rival camps while generating insights of its own into the meanings of being human in an age of planetary climate change. An essential reading for our times.” – Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago”Drawing his observations from the humanities as much as the sciences, Hamilton offers a robust view of the current state of play; not a warning – we’re past that stage – but an attempt at understanding.” – Geographical Magazine“The book is a deeply philosophical and intensively argumentative plea for all of us to reconcile ourselves with the looming planetary crisis that is now on our doorstep. It is not only beautifully written, but passionately argued … All books should aim for this stimulating provocation of thought, but it seems a rare accomplishment that few manage to achieve.”Academic Council on the United Nations System, ACUNS About the Author Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra and author of Requiem for a Species: Why we resist the truth about climate change and Earthmasters: The dawn of the age of climate engineering.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I had read/heard two previous reviews from friends who were not highly favourable of the book. So I approached my reading with some scepticism.Not for long. I loved it and found it hard to put my Kindle away.I really appreciated the philosophical-intellectual approach that Clive Hamilton took.But most important to me was the key message of the book: humans are the culprits. We have to mend our ways, adapt, change dramatically to live with the anthropocentrically altered earth systems. Clive Hamilton reminded the reader to take responsibility. That word is music to my ears. Whether it is on a personal level, community level or environmental/planetary level, responsibility appears to be a word that has given way to ‘rights’. We have to recover it and place it before ‘rights’ – in my view.On the downside (but the downside does not detract from my rating): the message could have been delivered in some fewer pages, but then that applies to most books. The message needs to be delivered to the young. So a simplified version of the book for older children and youth may be in the order. Finally, the planet’s greatest problem: human overpopulation was not spelt out, although indirectly the message was present by the mere fact that humans are the culprits.

⭐While at times repetitive, the message bears repeating, again and again. It is a compelling account of the impact of the Anthropocene, the geologically new world we have both created and entered. It is a world that will not serve humans well. This book has disturbed me in a way deeper that I thought would happen. Not all the chapters will be relevant for everyone, and it does tackle various academic controversies that will mainly concern social science and humanities scholars, but its main thrust is important. I wish it wasn’t … but we now have no choice to live on an increasingly defiant planet.

⭐Yikes! I am a firm believer in climate change and how man is a part of nature and not separate from nature. But reading this book is sooo laborious. The syntax is way self absorbed. The author seems to be more interested in showing he can write sentences that are over 50 words in length than making a point. It is pure Ambien to read this book. If you are an insomniac… BUY THIS BOOK! You will be asleep inside of three pages once you are past the first 15 pages. The book begins nicely but becomes an incessantly boring read afterwards.

⭐In the Preface to Defiant Earth, Clive Hamilton asks a hard question: if science says the climate is changing cataclysmically, why are we still making plans as if it weren’t? Why do we study the century of China, the future need for a 15 hour workweek, or life under the internet of things? Why are we whistling past the graveyard? This would make for a great book. Unfortunately, not this book. Instead, this book is about giving Homo Sapiens (HS) full “credit” for actually changing the Earth System itself. That is huge, he says, and makes HS outstanding. This is a book of philosophy, not science.The Anthropocene began in 1945, when the chart began to look like a hockey stick. For a couple of hundred years before, HS polluted, but its numbers were so small and technology so minimal, it made no measurable difference to the Earth System. Hamilton’s argument is that the Anthropocene is a full rupture, not a continuation. It is too late to go back to the Holocene. That’s over, and spraying shrapnel into the atmosphere will not bring it back. From now on, everything HS does will result in an angry response. While HS tinkers with the balance of nature, the Earth System, which includes everything, responds with far more power.Hamilton says HS deserves “credit” for its “agency” in the Anthropocene, because not only has it has caused this rupture, but HS could decide not to continue if it so desired. This is of course absurd and nothing in the book backs it up. HS had no idea what it was doing when it loused up the environment, and is and has always been out of control. HS could in no way stop this, and has never been able to even alter the course. Had HS had the simple decent courtesy to control its own numbers, then it could have remained inside the Earth System, and the system could have dealt with its effluent. But HS was too ignorant to do even that little.Doubling down, two thirds through Defiant Earth, the real arrogance comes out, as Hamilton claims HS gives Earth meaning, and without HS Earth is nothing.From what I see, Earth is like a wet dog, about to shake the annoying water out of its fur. When it has rid itself of the irritant, the violent storm will calm. It doesn’t matter to Earth or Earth System science that Homo Sapiens is the smartest thing it ever produced. It is an irritant, breaking the rules and operating outside the system. Credit is not a concept I would associate with these random, irresponsible and uncoordinated acts.Hamilton argues thoroughly and I disagree with him totally.David Wineberg

⭐In many ways this is a follow-up to Requiem for a Species. Hamilton argues that humans have caused the climate disaster we are in and we have the power to get ourselves out of it. It is a good history of how we got here, but one gets the sense that his hope is sort of a desperate hope that he himself my not believe. It also doesn’t take into account what we know from history, psychology, and systems theory about collective action on the scale that he is calling for. It reminds me of the line from the article “Why Last Chapters Disappoint,” from David Greenberg where he notes, “Even those social critics who acknowledge the difficulty of their solutions cannot help offering up the equally quixotic hope that people will somehow rise up spontaneously against the diagnosed ills.” Hamilton’s diagnosis is on point – as it has been in his previous work. Yet, I do not find his way forward to be reasonable or possible, although I understand why he suggests it. He does good work and I gave the book four stars because so much of it is strong, and it is sort of hard to blame him for not coming up with a good way forward since it seems, by most accounts and what history and science tells us about humanity, that the way forward is dark, dim, and unlikely to change. I hope Hamilton is correct. But I am skeptical.

⭐I like this book. It has a huge perspective and helps understand the huge forces at work as humans enter the Anthropocene. It explains why we’ve moved from a fairly hospitable planet to one where unpredictability will be the new norm.

⭐I really enjoyed ‘Requiem for a Species’ by the same author. This book is, however, turgid and extremely repetitive, more like someone’s MA Thesis than material for a full book. He goes on and on about how and how not to define ‘The Anthropocene’ to the point that you find yourself silently screaming: ‘I don’t care, please just get on with the book’. But he doesn’t. I gave up around 2/3rds way through, once I’d finally figured that he was going to find yet another 101 ways of saying the same thing over and over and over again…!

⭐Clive is an important voice in these environmental crisis times. He doesn’t mince words and we need voices like his.

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