Collage of The Three Ecologies:This collage I produced in Photoshop is a representation of how we as humans are responsible for burning our own planet down. The image is trying to illustrate the steps in society that essentially closes in a circle. Starting on the bottom left, the already experienced destruction (in the form of wildfires in this case) is risking to spread further and further, driving communities around it to run, protest and fight to make a change. But how do you make a change? Of course through the same capitalistic system that is responsible for Climate Change in the first place. People in the bottom right are waiting for their turn for the ladder that would take them up the steps of the hierarchy that would gain them the power and tools to fight the issues. But by the time they get there they will have a taste for success and a smell for money. After that, those issues won't be as urgent for them anymore, and rather solving them, they will join their predecessors to keep up the destruction to feed the piggy bank through the profit economy.
The Three Ecologies by Félix Guattari - Summary
(pp27-28) Guattari points out several major issues concerning deterioration. Besides the existing issues, he predicts that the accelerating change, especially in technology will "ultimately threaten the continuation of life on the planet's surface." He reasons his argument by pointing to the incompetencies of political and executive affiliations that seemingly cannot fully understand environmental issues such as industrial pollution. One solution might be an "etico-political articulation" - or "ecosophy". Furthermore, he mentions the paradigm of industrial automation and its mostly negative effects that it has on society all around the world. He believes that the only true response to all these issues exists on a global scale.
(pp29-30) A major generator for the global crisis is the "profit economy" and power relations as well as the arms race and nuclear energy development. All of the above will ultimately push great margins into poverty and will pose significant harm and destruction. these apparatus are of course maintained by the control of market values and through police and military. He also acknowledges that the class change due to opposition historically has not actually changed, (I believe he refers to the French Revolution) rather it is an illusion cloaking the major segregations and divisions of modern society.
(pp31-32) He claims that for one area or zone to succeed, another one needs to suffer. And that the technological acceleration on one hand will help to fight ecological and social issues, but on the other hand, it will also help to continue the degrading trend of global capitalism. furthermore, the growing "Third-Worldization" of eastern countries and even western regions serve enough purpose to feed mass consumerism and economic growth that would by no means draw any slowing action from the people who benefit from it, no matter how unfair it is. To close on page 32, he acknowledges some progress in gender equality.
(pp33-34) Guattari highlights the importance of rock music as a way for newer generations to escape and deny the mass media subjectivity and economic hardships. However significant this is, he thinks that the resulting decentralization and singularization will only make things worse. Furthermore, it will lead to the reconstruction of praxis in many areas. The same deprivation of proprietary rights can be observed through racism, masculinity as an ethno-political move. And so since there is no point looking back at formulas in history, he foresees the social ecosophy will lead to constant development to everyday modes of life.
(pp35-36) Mental ecosophy is the tool for reinvention. But before the reinvention of social problems, human relations within needs to be sorted out. As to rearticulate the types of ecologies through the fight against mass media and manipulation, it will meet opposition that can lead to further "racism, religious fanaticism, nationalitary schisms, ... exploitation of child labor, the oppression of Woman. He starts with a new paragraph to further discuss the implications of the ecosophical perspective. To do just that, he shifts the attention to the components of subjectivity rather than the subject itself. This is necessary to compare and contrast the true difference and relationship between the individual and subjectivity. This way subjectivity can be looked at at a conceptual level to surpass it being a taboo within the scientific society. In fact, subjectivity has the power to keep false-scientific paradigms without objection or complete resolution.
(pp39-40) He emphasizes the aspect of critical thinking when it comes to sciences, especially of psychoanalysis that already only exists on a theoretical basis, never proven or been able to be proved by the clinical trial. this allows psychoanalysis to be played with and looked at through different lenses. His whole idea is reinvention and progress, otherwise, any field of practice will just end up performing an endless circle. his leading example that shows signs of reinvention is art, specifically painting.
(pp41-42) Continuing on subjectivity, he believes that if humanity won't be able to change its practices for the better, then surely machines and artificial intelligence will, since they don't have the same limitations as we do. He goes on introducing the three ecologies that he finds vital components to reconstruct society: Social ecology, Mental ecology, and Environmental ecology. The deteriorating environment is due to not just the relationships of humans to nature but the "fatalistic passivity" towards the problems. Besides, the limitations of technology by itself won't be enough to stop environmental deterioration without control over the profit economy-driven "autocrats". However, even if solved by technology, the natural habitat will never return to its original state as everything becomes interdependent to the new environment. he uses the example of the octopus thriving in polluted water and dying in clean water.
(pp43-44) Besides experiencing environmental degradation, the author points out the social degradation that runs parallel to disrupt and normalize unethical culture, business, and international affairs. His examples are Donald Trump as a parasite that causes destruction and eviction while celebrated on TV, child labor that tends to remain as long as it is beneficial for the consumers, and lastly, the language that's been losing its expressiveness and solidarity. What is making this even more difficult to propose the social reconstruction is that each of the "three ecologies are governed by a different logic."
(pp45-46) Ecological praxis seeks to counter deteriorating practices, however, it is vital to move it gradually towards progress, otherwise, it will lose its consistency and will remain passive or even fail to deterritorialize subjectivism. He mentions that during history cause and effect relationships found "refuge in art and religion", but with the 20th century, technological acceleration, and mass destruction, this relationship won't exist and will force us all to witness the irreversible consequences of human actions.
(pp47-48) A certain component of traditional capitalism such as banking is losing its place in the hierarchical structure to information technology and has led to the post-industrial or "Integrated World Capitalism (IWC)." This capitalistic structure is moving away from the physical production of goods to metaphysical service production. The author identifies four main "semiotic regimes" on which IWC is founded: -Economic semiotics, -Juridical semiotics, -Techno-scientific semiotics, -Semiotics of subjectification. These semiotic regimes are leading the way to completely lose touch with reality.
(pp49-50) A key tool identified is"the introjection of repressive power by the oppressed." It is difficult, however, because institutionally, if the goal is to represent and protect the workers and the oppressed, the natural structure of the institution will apply those very tactics of oppression within its own ranks. Therefore, Guattari proposes that mental ecology should be evenly practiced in everyday life to create an ethical platform that is exercised by individuals rather than institutions.
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Keywords:
- pauperize: - to reduce to poverty
- antagonism: - the opposition of a conflicting force, tendency or principle
- ameliorate: - to make better or more
- ecosophy: - the combination of ecology and philosophy
- pseudo: - false, spurious
- enunciation: - to make a definite or systematic statement of
- socius: - a unit in social relationships consisting of an individual
- hypercathexis: - excessive concentration of desire upon a particular object.
Questions:
- What are the three ecologies?
Social ecology, Mental ecology, and Environmental ecology.
- Is there a lack of understanding of the full implication the issues two political groups and institutions?
Yes, mostly because each of the three ecologies is governed by a different logic.
- What are the divergent forces on technology, as architects how can we affect this divergence?
The biggest divergence controlling technology is the profit economy. But it is also important to mention mechanization and artificial intelligence that will diverge from humanity due to different limitations.
- Is architecture controlled more through subjectivity [opinion polls, advertising, and media] then through production and services?
- Does archdaily [https://www.archdaily.com/] fit into this?
Yes, it does, similarly to how Christopher Alexander manifests it. It is the final product that is judged most of the time, and even that is mostly based on aesthetical characteristics. Where on the other hand, a well thought through project may be missed by the masses because of all that goes into the building from start to finish is mostly invisible to the outside.
- What is meant by deterritorialized relationships, how is it applicable to architecture?
Architects design and build suburban sprawls and emerge or extend cities with the flood of international-style skyscrapers. The commonality they have is that they are all coming straight out of the cookie-cutter, completely disregarding place, time, culture, etc.
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