Micah Tillman

For part of today’s lecture I gave my spiel on what “natural” means (since it was the final lecture on Locke).  (I’ve tackled the topic before here, here, here, here, and here.)

Locke’s politics is based on the idea of the “State of Nature.”

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I

Locke thinks (Sec. 4) that class distinctions (of the “noblesse vs. peasant” type) and titles (of the “duke,” “king,” “lord” type) are artificial constructs supported by governments.

In other words, the idea that one person should have authority over another simply based on birth is something that would fall apart if there were no government to enforce it.

But governments are not natural, Locke thinks, so neither are class distinctions and titles.

Therefore, it is natural for everyone to be treated as equals, especially given the fact that all humans have the same basic mental “faculties” (Sec. 4).  Most importantly, anyone can “consult” reason (Sec. 6).  (In other words, everyone has reason, or can act rationally.)

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II

From the idea that no one is naturally born into authority, and that everyone has reason by nature, Locke deduces his entire political system.  It’s really very cool.

But he never “thematizes” the question of naturalness.  What does it mean for something to be natural?

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III

For example, both hamsters and hemlock are natural, but hamsters are good for you, and hemlock isn’t (ask Socrates).

And yet people nowadays tend to equate natural with good.  As does Locke.

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IV

But for us, the opposite of “natural” is “artificial.”

But “artificial” things are things that are made or created, like dams and houses.

But beavers make dams and bees build houses.  So what makes the things that humans make “artificial” — when the things that animals make are “natural” — is that human things involve thought, while animals make what they make “automatically.”

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V

So, to be natural is to be automatic, instinctual, thoughtless, while to be non-natural is to be thoughtful, or thoughtfully constructive.

You can see the dichotomy in many films, where the main character’s problem is that she or he “thinks too much” (or “spends all her/his time thinking about the future,” or “about being somewhere else”) and her or his problem is resolved over the course of the movie by learning to “live in the moment,” or to “be spontaneous,” or to “trust her/his instincts.”

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VI

And since humans are the thinking beings in the world, the ones capable of not acting automatically (but acting artificially), everything humans do, make, and touch becomes tainted.

Humans are like a virus, says Agent Smith.  Except that viruses do what they do naturally.  Humans do it thoughtfully, artificially, purposefully.

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VII

Therefore, since humans are the be-thoughted beings, they are the unnatural beings.  And the only way for them to be natural (i.e., good) is to not be human.

In the extreme, that gives you the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. In the less extreme, that gives you the “No Impact” movement, and the “Carbon Neutral” movement.

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VIII

(It used to be that people wanted to change the world, to make a difference, to have an impact.)

(Not anymore.)

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IX

In the even less extreme, that gives you the glorification of “simpler times,” the “pre-industrial age,” the “primitive,” and “getting back to nature.”  (I.e., the celebration of times and peoples that are [supposedly] “less artificial,” or [supposedly] less dependent on “constructs” of whatever type.)

In the even less extreme, that gives you the celebration of the child, of childlike spontaneity, exuberance, innocence, irrationality, and frankness. (Won’t somebody think of the children!?)

“Maturity,” after all, is something you have to work on.  It means not acting or speaking before you think.  It means acting and reacting thoughtfully, not automatically.

The mature adult is something which must be made.  She/he doesn’t happen automatically.

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X

But Locke, in this respect, is an Aristotelian.  What is natural for a thing is its telos.  And the telos of humanity is rational living.

It never occurs to either of them — that I know of — to think of humans as being the one unnatural thing in the entire universe.

They both agree that humans are special.  But not special in the sense of, “The only problem — ultimately — with the world; the root of all evil.”

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XI

All of this shows us just how much power the word “natural” has.  Base your argument, your sales pitch, your politics, etc. on that word, and you’re well on your way to success.

Which should make us ask to what end(s) we — and the people we encounter — use the word.  With great power comes great responsibility, as someone once said.

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Tags: Environment, John Locke, Natural