Unpacking The Dark Mountain Project

At the February 13, 2018 Owl & Ibis meeting the various premises and arguments of the Dark Mountain Project were presented and discussed. The full PowerPoint slide presentation is available here: DMP O&I Slide Show. Or, for faster, easier downloading here's the slide show in nine parts:

Part I; Part II; Part III; Part IV; Part V; Part VI; Part VII; Part VIII; Part IX

It was agreed that to better determine if the DMP premises are true and decide if its arguments are acceptable, more information was needed on current and projected future global conditions in these areas:

Economics

Environmentalism

The Humanities

Politics

The Natural Sciences and Technology

The Social Sciences

Attendees chose Environmentalism, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences as the first areas to study, present to the group, and discuss. Economics, Politics and the Natural Sciences and Technology will be addressed after these.

If, as DMP insists, the narrative of human above-all-other-life predominance, and the idea of human progress and perfection coupled with unbridled economic growth, are contributing to ecocide and societal and civilizational collapse, it would be worthwhile to know how the world arrived at its current state, what exactly are the current conditions, and what is the forecast for this (flawed?) “standard model” for human flourishing.

For the next one or two meetings, Jim Lassiter will present and lead discussion on the past events that set in motion and continue to drive this (perilous?) arc of Western now global civilization. Particular attention will be given to the history of notions of progress, human ecology, science and technology, economics, and politics and governance. The present and future within the above six sectors will be taken up at subsequent meetings.