Apocalypsophy
On recycling, green growth and other dangerous fantasies
For many years we’ve known about our collective effect on the planet and its consequences. Still, many pretend nothing is wrong. We would rather dream of carbon offsetting, circular economies, ‘green growth’ – of a world where everything can be cleaned, recycled or resolved with magical technology. Anything to stop us from making real change. In 'Apocalypsophy', Lisa Doeland confronts us with our various ‘green dreams’.
Take, for example, the sheer scale of the climate crisis: it’s too big, it’s unstoppable. This fatalism is dangerous, writes Doeland, not only because there is so much to do, but because it imagines the end – of humanity, biodiversity, the planet – too simply. As though everything will finish with a bang. This too is a form of denial. When, instead, we acknowledge the catastrophe has already happened, and is going on continually around us, we can work towards a future beyond impending doom.
Rather than reassure, Doeland offers tools for living as best as we can among the ruins. Bodily engagement is necessary, as is local concrete action. We must learn to see ourselves as part of the cycle of life, death and waste, and learn to die out – perhaps the goal of all philosophy. Doeland builds her argument across nine chapters, turning to thinkers like Srecko Horvat, Timothy Morton, Anna Tsing, Val Plumwood, Donna Harraway, Bruno Latour, Jacques Derrida and Walter Benjamin, as well as works of art, film and literature from popular culture.
An empowering, clear-eyed philosophy in which the climate apocalypse has already happened
Offers tools for living among the ruins and reimagining another future
Year of publication
2023
Page count
240
Publisher
Ten Have
Rights
Shared Stories
Hayo Deinum
hayo@sharedstories.nl
Sample translation available
“Full of wonderful metaphors and intriguing provocations.”
“Doeland skillfully makes mincemeat of unrealistic ideas.”
“Doeland offers a welcome argument against overly rosy pictures and, more surprisingly, against overly gloomy expectations. Yes, a lot is being lost, but there is also something to be salvaged.”
Headstrong
Brankele Frank thought she could do it all. Combining a career as a neurobiologist with a job as a strategic consultant for McKinsey? Writing for newspapers and magazines? No problem, there was still enough time for a triathlon. But when her life comes to a screeching halt her first concern is recovery. After a while, Frank begins to search for answers.
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Pain — An Expedition Into Uncharted Territory
Pain causes a lot of suffering and comes with a huge price tag, yet it remains under-reported. Words often fail us. We try to measure it on a scale of 1 to 10, but have no idea what those numbers mean. Can we ever know what someone else’s pain feels like?
Helenka — A Pioneer Among Scientists and Freedom Fighters
When Anna van Suchtelen sees a picture of her grandmother Helena (Helenka) Drecke seated in a laboratory, it piques her curiosity and launches her on a quest. Helenka is wearing a dress, looking defiantly into the camera, and there is a sign behind her that reads ‘Danger: 4000 volts’.
Reflection Time
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, just as the world went into lockdown, Meredith Greer realized she was pregnant but couldn’t keep the baby. The experience of waiting for, undergoing, and recovering from an abortion was isolated and isolating, encapsulated as it was in a larger, collective act of waiting.
