This lecture shed light on the numerous ways in which humans have attempted to dominate nature. Since ancient times, humans have engaged in hunting, for example, and still do today. Such an endeavor functions as a form of dominion over nature, but also appears to illustrate a connection between humans and nature. Hunting is connected to the natural world, as lions hunt zebras, sharks hunt other fish, and humans, too, hunt for deer, among other things. So, in considering hunting as a method for dominating the natural world, one, in turn, witnesses the connection between nature and a seemingly distant or separate act.
Much of the lecture also focused on magic as another form of human dominion over nature. Magic was utilized to give humans the power to control nature, a force that generally holds all the power. Magic spells attempted to influence love interests and subdue others in efforts to gain superiority. Such spells and potions, while working to govern nature, relied on the natural world. For example, potions would contain animals, such as birds, cats, and snakes. While contemplating the use of magic as a way to dominate nature ultimately made me consider magic as analogous to modern technology. The technology we utilize today seems to attempt to control or dominate nature–the technology of a radiator, for example, essentially dominates over natural cold, creating its own artificial temperature. A radiator relies on resources from nature, though, as the metals used to create this technology are found in the natural world. So, just as magic potions rely on certain natural resources, so, too, do many technologies we employ today. Perhaps our extreme reliance on nature is what drives our desire to control it so that we may utilize it at our will. We do not want to eliminate nature, just control it for our own benefit, though it seems that the trouble today is maintaining the ability to control nature without destroying it (as was done in ancient times).