Learning Native Wisdom

作者:Holthaus, Gary

页数:272

出版时间:2008-5

价格:$ 56.50

isbn号码:9780813124872

具体描述

Scientific evidence has made it abundantly clear that the world's population can no longer continue its present rate of consuming and despoiling the planet's limited natural resources. Scholars, activists, politicians, and citizens worldwide are promoting the idea of sustainability, or systems and practices of living that allow a community to maintain itself indefinitely.Despite increased interest in sustainability, its popularity alone is insufficient to shift our culture and society toward more stable practices. Gary Holthaus argues that sustainability is achievable but is less a set of practices than the result of a healthy worldview. Learning Native Wisdom: Reflections on Subsistence, Sustainability, and Spirituality examines several facets of societies -- cultural, economic, agricultural, and political -- seeking insights into the ability of some societies to remain vibrant for thousands of years, even in extremely adverse conditions and climates. Holthaus looks to Eskimo and other Native American peoples of Alaska for the practical wisdom behind this way of living.Learning Native Wisdom explains why achieving a sustainable culture is more important than any other challenge we face today. Although there are many measures of a society's progress, Holthaus warns that only a shift away from our current culture of short-term abundance, founded on a belief in infinite economic growth, will represent true advancement. In societies that value the longevity of people, culture, and the environment, subsistence and spirituality soon become closely allied with sustainability.Holthaus highlights the importance of language as a reflection of shared cultural values, and he shows how our understanding of the very word subsistence illustrates his argument. In a culture of abundance, the term implies deprivation and insecurity. However, as Holthaus reminds us, "All cultures are subsistence cultures." Our post-Enlightenment consumer-based societies obscure or even deny our absolute dependence on soil, air, sunlight, and water for survival.This book identifies spirituality as a key component of meaningful cultural change, a concept that Holthaus defines as the recognition of the invisible connections between people, their neighbors, and their surroundings. For generations, native cultures celebrated and revered these connections, fostering a respect for past, present, and future generations and for the earth itself.Ultimately, Holthaus illustrates how spirituality and the concept of subsistence can act as powerful guiding forces on the path to global sustainability. He examines the perceptions of cultures far more successful at long-term survival than our own and describes how we might use their wisdom to overcome the sustainability crisis currently facing humanity.

用户评价

这本书的篇幅令人望而生畏，但其排版上的疏朗和大量的留白，又在视觉上减轻了这种压力。从结构上看，它似乎试图通过不断地循环论点来加深印象，然而在实际效果上，却造成了内容的重复和拖沓。我发现自己不断地在不同的章节中遇到相似的论断，只是换了一种措辞或引入了一个不同的引用源。这种写作手法或许旨在强调某些核心主题的普适性，但对于追求信息密度和逻辑推进的读者来说，这无疑是一种时间的消耗。我更偏爱那种层层递进、清晰勾勒出知识体系的结构。这本书更像是一场精心设计的漫步，风景优美，但路线曲折重复，让人感觉时间在原地踏步，而非向前迈进。它需要读者极高的专注力来筛选出真正有价值的知识点，过滤掉那些为了篇幅和风格而存在的重复表达。

坦率地说，这本书的深度是毋庸置疑的，它显然汇集了作者多年来对各种文化遗迹和精神传统的潜心研究。然而，这种深度也带来了一个显著的副作用——极高的门槛。阅读过程中，我频繁地需要查阅脚注或自行搜索背景知识，否则故事线索和论证逻辑就会断裂。这本书更像是一部学术专著的散文式变体，充满了只有圈内人士才能完全领会的隐晦指涉。我尝试着以一个普通爱好者的心态去接纳它，但最终发现自己总是在追赶作者的思维步伐，而不是与他并肩前行。特别是在探讨跨文化比较的部分，作者似乎预设了读者对所有提及的文明体系都有相当的了解，这让我的阅读体验断断续续，充满了挫败感。对于希望获得轻松愉悦的知识探索之旅的读者而言，这可能需要极大的耐心和持续的学术投入。

翻开这本厚厚的精装书，我原本满怀期待，希望能在这位作者的笔下，找到一丝关于如何深入理解和运用那些古老智慧的线索。然而，阅读的过程却更像是一次漫长的自我摸索，书中铺陈的论述虽然引人入胜，但它们似乎总是在关键时刻打住，留下一个巨大的问号。我感觉作者在描绘一幅宏大的精神蓝图时，过分依赖于抽象的概念和比喻，这使得那些看似深邃的洞见，在实际应用层面变得难以捉摸。比如，书中反复提及“与自然之流同步”的概念，我试图在日常生活中寻找与之对应的具体行动指南，但最终收获的只是更多的哲学思辨。我期待的是一套能让我切实感受到“智慧”落地的路径，而不是一堆需要我自行去构建桥梁才能跨越的知识碎片。对于那些已经对相关领域有较深造诣的读者来说，这或许是一次有趣的思维体操，但对于渴望获得即时、可操作性指导的初学者，这本书的价值可能就显得有些飘渺了。它的力量在于启发想象，而非提供清晰的地图。

这本书最让我欣赏的一点是它所展现出的那种对“宏大叙事”的执着追求，它拒绝将复杂的世界简单化。作者的视野极其开阔，从东方哲学蔓延到西方的神秘学，再到原住民的口述传统，试图构建一个万物互联的整体观。然而，这种过于宏大的视野，使得任何单一主题的阐述都显得蜻蜓点水，缺乏必要的细致打磨。当我读到关于某特定仪式或信仰体系的部分时，我期待的是更具画面感和细节支撑的描写，但很快，叙事就跳跃到了另一个更抽象的层面。这种“见树不见林，见林不见根”的感觉，让我对书中所描绘的“智慧”的真实性和可信度产生了疑问。它是如此的包罗万象，以至于最终似乎什么都没有真正深入。这本书更像是一份宏伟的目录，列举了无数值得探究的领域，但并未提供深入探索的工具箱。

这本书的装帧和排版绝对是值得称赞的，纸张的质感和墨水的色泽都透露出一种对阅读体验的尊重，这一点让人在捧读时心情愉悦。不过，内容上的体验却颇为复杂。我不得不说，作者的语言风格极其考究，辞藻华丽，句子结构变化多端，读起来有一种古典文学的美感。但这种美感有时却成了理解内容的障碍。我常常需要反复阅读同一段落三四遍，才能勉强捕捉到作者试图传达的核心信息，这极大地拖慢了阅读节奏。更让我感到困惑的是，书中似乎有意回避了对具体案例的深入剖析，许多观点都停留在理论的空中楼阁上。例如，在讨论“内在的和谐”时，作者引用了大量古代哲人的名言，但缺少现代生活情境下的佐证，使得这些高远的理想似乎与我周遭的喧嚣格格不入。我更希望看到的是，这些“智慧”如何在当代社会中被检验、被实践，而不是仅仅被高高供奉起来，接受人们的顶礼膜拜。