DMT, Ecocide, and the Western Psyche
Clio s Psyche January 1, 2014 DOI: 10.70763/29c0c0ee223856f336d7ea8052057753 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractModern Western culture's consumerist and status-driven lifestyle fosters a spiritual malaise that undermines a meaningful relationship with the natural world, according to this philosophical analysis. The natural sciences warn of ecological collapse but may themselves embody the same destructive mindset. Thoughtful observers question how people in pseudo-democracies dominated by mega-corporations can reconnect with the suffering Earth, suggesting the crisis is as much spiritual as environmental.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psyche Psychoanalysis Environmental ethics Psychology Philosophy |
| Key finding | Argues that modern Western culture's relationship to nature is undermined by a spiritual malaise rooted in consumerism, corporate dominance, and the very scientific attitudes that diagnose ecological crisis. |
Abstract
Plagued by fears of civilizational collapse, the human relation to nature is charging back into modern consciousness. The natural sciences alert us to calamities on a vast scale, yet court the suspicion that they themselves presuppose an attitude intrinsic to the destructive dynamic. Thoughtful people diagnose a spiritual malaise at the heart of modern western culture. They wonder aloud how consumerist, status-conscious, gadget-obsessed urbanites in pseudo-democracies dominated by mega-corporations can ever re-capture a compelling relationship to the suffering Earth.