What to do with “anaesthetic” science and economics?

What to do with “anaesthetic” science and economics? School of Common Sense III

In the USA, a “revolution of common sense” is currently taking place, unfolding under the banner of nationalism, competition for natural resources and economic growth without regard for ecological limits. In the last two episodes, Rudolf Steiner’s concept of aesthetic culture was presented as an alternative vision for such a revolution. This concept encompasses not only the arts and spiritual science but also the natural sciences and economics. Some of the most positive developments of the last century – including the emergence of the modern environmental movement and of socially ecological finance and banking – have recently been linked by Dan McKanan to Steiner’s influence in these fields. In this episode, two strategies from modern political thought and philosophy are examined for dealing with tensions: on the one hand, the “anaesthetic” and technocratic tendencies in the natural sciences and economics; on the other, lived human experience. A gap emerges here that a genuine revolution of common sense could fill.

References

• Glazebrook, Trish (2004) Global Technology and the Promise of Control, in David Tabachnick and Toivo Koivukoski (eds), Globalization, Technology, and Philosophy. (SUNY Press, Albany).

• Heidegger, Martin (1977) The Question Concerning Technology, and Other Essays. (New York: Harper Collins).

• McKanan, Dan (2017) Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism. (Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press).

• Stallabrass, Julian (2020) Contemporary Art: a Very Short Introduction. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).