Natzschure: Nature, Nietzsche and Burke

The distinction of humans as being something separate from nature is a prevalent theme in throughout the readings of our course thus far. We first saw a note of the distinction in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Nietzsche discusses it in On Truth and Lies In a Nonmoral Sense and Burke strongly notes on this distinction in Terministic Screens. This distinction of separation is exemplified in Paul MacCready's Nature vs. Humans TED Talk.


As MacCready points out, humans have won over nature as humans increased from a minuscule percentage of Earth's occupation to now nearly 100%. More importantly, he states that humans now are similar to the Greek gods, acting carelessly as we manipulate nature at our whim. This last point can be associated with Nietzsche's quoting of Pascal, however, it is the mere fact that this TED Talk exists that illustrates the common concept that humans are separate from nature.

While Aristotle tackled the meaning of nature, it is Burke that directly addresses that humans are different. He states,

"Logology would point out: We can distinguish man from other animals without necessarily being over-haughty. For what other animals have yellow journalism, corrupt politics, pornography, stock market manipulators, plans for waging thermonuclear, chemical, and bacteriological war? I think we can consider ourselves different in kind from the other animals, without necessarily being over proud of our distinction. We don't need theology, but merely the evidence of our characteristic sociopolitical disorders, to make it apparent that man, the typically symbol-using animal, is alas! Something special. (Burke 50)

There are a number of philosophical points about humans being the most supreme beings on Earth. Burke is the first to address that it might be pretentious to call ourselves special, but that it is justified because of our use of language, our construction of symbols. We are also clearly special due to our wrong doings. What animals in nature do such corrupt things? They may steal but they have yet to wage nuclear war on their own kind.

MacCready uses this concept of humans having a sense of superiority (how godlike we are) to demonstrate how this has lead to humans winning over nature and that any profession focused on the Earth is not a good field to be in. It is futile to try to save nature as humans have dominated it and are so separate from nature that technology, the opposite of natural, is our prime focus, however as of now humans still need nature in order to live.

This struggle of continuity and discontinuity is important. As Darwin stressed the continuity of man and nature and Burke stresses the discontinuity, MacCready demonstrates the need to see and recognize the continuity of man, animals and nature.