permaculture

["Douglas Carnall" <dougie@navarino.org.uk>]

At Fri, 2 Feb 2007 18:36:02 -0800 bungo_bean@yahoo.com wrote:

>  I see the value of the philosophy of Permaculture as a clarifying lens
>through which to organize the world.

I feel the same way about cycling: and indeed, being an outsider in a
road culture dominated by motors does indeed lead one very quickly to
ask serious questions about culture, politics, human ability and the
environment. Permaculture's relationship to industrial agriculture is
presumably similar.

>  I don't worship it any more than I
>worship my reading glasses, though it is indespensible. 

I often jokingly refer to cycling as my "religion", but the truth that
underlies this joke is that in adopting a behaviour that seems to others
at times less than rational, at times more, is that in trying to do
things "the hard way" when other courses of action might seem culturally
"rational" actually teaches you deep truths about where culture and
reason diverge. Permaculturists' relation to industrial agriculture is
similarly important.

>The practice of
>Permaculture builds on this, and becomes a reinforcing reality through
>which I can interact with the natural world in some meaningful way.
>There is no substitute for observation without agenda.

At the end of the day, do you choose your beliefs? At some point, you
have to take the word of others on trust. That said, among the few
things that I do believe is that there is no such thing as observation
without agenda. Only good theorists can make good observations, because
only they know where to look.

It is possible as an individual to know certain truths are true (not all
philosophers would agree), but if you follow your nose while offering
quasi-religious attention to either cycling or permaculture, while
staying open to possibilities beyond your ken (those unknown unknowns do
keep cropping up) you will at least be on a path to truth, and hopefully
be able to respect all others who are on theirs.

Those individuals who seem wilfully to ignore certain truths are usually
being heavily bribed to do so, or worse--after all you could always come
up with a bigger bribe--are entirely ignorant of their own ignorance.

D.
--
Dougie Carnall
http://navarino.org.uk:8080/blog