Forests: The Shadow of Civilization

          Forests: The Shadow of Civilization brings up an interesting point- and from the perspective of humans, an important one. Rober Pogue Harrison claims that mankind comes from the forest. Whether this is true or not, it revolves around at least one central point: forests play a large role in humanity. The way I think it, is that forests are viewed from humans in a certain way. To us, forests represent wilderness and the uncontrollable. Forests can seem ominous- where one is surrounded by tall trees, wild animals, and nature in its most primitive form. Being in the forest can seem oppressive and different. At night, one has only the company of animal sounds and darkness. One thing is for certain- when you are in the forest, it is just the forest and you. In daylight or nighttime, all that one can see is forest. Humans seem to be out of their element. For man likes to be in control- and in a forest, it seems the other way around.

          If we take this into account, perhaps it makes sense that humankind, as Harrison claims, continues to destroy the forest in their climb to the sky and knowledge. Rome gained its grandeur only after destroying its forest. It seems that "the mythic forests of antiquity stand opposed to the city in some fundamental way", and humankind is bent on commanding the forests. Because forests are uncontrollable by man, humans must show their dominion by either changing it or ultimately destroying it completely. In We, the One State does this by living in a glass dome.
Vico also states that humanity cannot stand nature- for it is a "submission to something external", and man, with its enormous ego, must be the one in control. This, I think, is what guides mankind through the path that we have taken. Everything we do is to make ourselves more powerful and more knowledgeable- more like God. God, a perfect being, is who man strives to be. All the technology we have made has gone to benefit us humans. And to do this, humanity had to be at the top of the tower. Forests enclosed mankind, with its leaves on top and the earth below. So, man got rid of the trees, showing their dominion over the lands. And, to conquer the sky, as Harrison mentions later, "space travel remains its [the giants] ultimate ambition".

          But all things are connected. We rely on the forest for food and shelter (our homes and furniture are even made out of wood), and it is our true home. The sky is the unknown- our religion, our intelligence. We seem to need the forest for our physical needs, and the sky supplies us with our minds. Perhaps we need not fear either of these elements, instead embracing it wholly. But then again, should we? For that would mean leaving our technology, our comforts, our wants. Our curiosity and crave for knowledge takes us on a never-ending journey. Mankind can survive solely on the forest and sky- but our wants and desires takes us further into the land of logic and technology. We fear each of these three things- the forest, the sky, and technology. Stories are told of forests where people never come back out, where wild beasts lie. The sky holds an entire universe of the unknown and unconquered, and God, almighty and all powerful, waits to judge humanity. Technology, the one that we most control, could grow to become the most destructive of all. It is strange that the three things that we hold on most dear to we also fear the most.

          What's interesting is that if we consider that man was born from the forest, the forest is like its home and mother. We often refer to the world as "Mother Earth" and the sky the father. Zeus, Jupiter, and Jove are all men. Perhaps mankind is going through some kind of "teenage year" where they insist on rebelling against their "mother" by running away from their sylvan home and exerting their control over the forest. For mankind does follow this cycle that starts and ends in the forest. Vico declares that "Men first feel necessity, then look for utility, next attend to comfort, still later amuse themselves with pleasure, thence grow dissolute in luxury, and finally go mad and waste their substance". The free giants, after hearing thunder, build homes and societies, and then gain knowledge and science, which helps make their lives comfier, and then they believe themselves to be happy, and then, because mankind has never-ending wants, decide to go back to when they were "free". This cycle is also touched upon in We when Zamyatin brings up the idea of infinite rebellions. And this does seem true. The French Revolution began and ended with a monarchical government. People rebelled because they were starving and living out on the streets. In the Grand Inquisitor, perhaps what the Grand Inquisitor says applies as well. "Give people bread, and then ask them of their virtue". And this is what the One State does. It gives people bread, and thus the people no longer worry  when they have this security. Freedom of Democracy addresses this as well. Individuals conform to society and to each other, thus minimizing the differences and living as one. Whatever the case, the idea seems to be a one that we humans think of often and deeply.