Two weeks ago, Professor Peterson of Colby College gave an interesting talk that was centered around the relationship between German philosophy and how we view environmental changes that are slowly happening around us. Although some of the recent talks on climate change have taken a different less direct approach to help us understand what we might to do further the understanding of climate change and strategies to combat it, Peterson was direct in his analysis of the problem.
Peterson drew on the works of Kant and used the notion of priori, a feeling held before one as an experience, to describe the main problem with understanding climate change and lack of progress in addressing it. This he claims is one of the main reasons why our human nature has prevented us from taking the appropriate action against climate change. I truly enjoyed Petersons analysis of the human brain and found it to be particularly true and easily understood. He discussed the inherent qualities of the human brain and that our understanding of risk is not enough to change our behaviors. I believe this is an accurate statement about most humans and we are all inherently positioned to reject change unless completely necessary.
I find this true in my own life especially as graduation is grows closer. I know that I am not the only one who would like to stay in the college bubble for a little bit longer. The idea of having a job and being largely independent is one that many people struggle to grasp, and it is this great change that causes anxiety and stress for many. We also see this trend of change aversion from generation to generation as certain ideas and values differ and we often think of older generations as being less accepting than younger ones. However, this is likely due to the fact that a change in value or norms for an older generation is likely caused by the younger ones so there would be a disconnect in the processing. In this case, we must understand how we as humans view change in order to address the problems that we have with it.
This is no different in the case of climate change. If we understand that our brains are programmed against change, and the action that is needed against climate change requires a societal initiative greater than we are prepared to accept; we must push past the reluctance for change. The only way to move past the way that our brains are wired is to understand that they will push against the change needed in the action against climate change. The second part of the issue is that it is not an individual effort, and many people need to come to this realization in order to properly address climate change. I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Peterson’s direct, and in my opinion, accurate analysis of what is preventing us from acting against climate change. Our resistance to change is something that we all need to be aware of, not only in this case, but throughout our lives.