Limon Miah
Prologue:
In the prologue of The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert, the author starts off with an interesting way of defining the emergence of the human species onto the Earth. She states that this new species does not have a name, but however “has the capacity to name other things”. Furthermore, later on, Kolbert highlights the impact of this new species. She says that they are able to do things such as travel across great distances, adapt to new environments and also be resourceful enough to elongate their survival by killing other animals. Ultimately, the main point that Kolbert introduced in the prologue that is to be explored throughout the various chapters following, is that the human species were able to maintain their existence and survival on Earth, mainly due to the way they’ve altered the surroundings around them to aid in their existence. This leads to the second point that Kolbert expresses on how this has directly caused the modern world to be undergoing a new mass extinction phase, the sixth extinction. At the end of the prologue, Kolbert states that she will be discussing mostly historic extinctions of the past but will also focus on the changes taking place in the present day. Kolbert concludes with the thought that the thought about a mass extinction, though is a morbid thought, has certain sides to it that is of great excitement and is a “truly extraordinary moment in which we live”.
My reaction to Kolbert's point of a mass extinction occurring in the modern day genuinely left me puzzled (R). It’s not every day that you think to yourself that one day humans, the most dominant species on Earth, can one day be wiped out completely. However, I did realize this was an inevitable truth, as nature always has a full circle. Throughout history, it has always been evident that with the rise of one species, that same species always comes to an end. What left me shocked though is that the modern mass extinction means that all the advancements that mankind progressed to would also vanish with mankind itself. This includes everything from individual cultures and languages to even the technological advancements that we have in the modern day. I connected Kolbert's point to the APES theme of humans altering natural systems. I believe that the reason why this new idea of a modern mass extinction occurring now is because Humans have throughout history exploited the world around them in order to make the progress that is present now available. In the prologue, Kolbert mentioned, “The members of the new species are not particularly swift or strong or fertile, They are, however, singularly resourceful” (p.1). This single-handedly is evidence of how mankind has always viewed the Earth as not a home, but a resource for their survival. Thus driving the overall message that the only way humans were able to accomplish their survival and become the most dominant species on Earth is through altering the Earth in ways that would benefit itself, and though this has accomplished the goal of progression for humans, it has also expedited the eventual doom of the human species into the modern mass extinction.
My reaction to Kolbert's point of a mass extinction occurring in the modern day genuinely left me puzzled (R). It’s not every day that you think to yourself that one day humans, the most dominant species on Earth, can one day be wiped out completely. However, I did realize this was an inevitable truth, as nature always has a full circle. Throughout history, it has always been evident that with the rise of one species, that same species always comes to an end. What left me shocked though is that the modern mass extinction means that all the advancements that mankind progressed to would also vanish with mankind itself. This includes everything from individual cultures and languages to even the technological advancements that we have in the modern day. I connected Kolbert's point to the APES theme of humans altering natural systems. I believe that the reason why this new idea of a modern mass extinction occurring now is because Humans have throughout history exploited the world around them in order to make the progress that is present now available. In the prologue, Kolbert mentioned, “The members of the new species are not particularly swift or strong or fertile, They are, however, singularly resourceful” (p.1). This single-handedly is evidence of how mankind has always viewed the Earth as not a home, but a resource for their survival. Thus driving the overall message that the only way humans were able to accomplish their survival and become the most dominant species on Earth is through altering the Earth in ways that would benefit itself, and though this has accomplished the goal of progression for humans, it has also expedited the eventual doom of the human species into the modern mass extinction.
No comments:
Post a Comment