Arnold Toynbee Excerpt Essay Research Paper In

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Arnold Toynbee Excerpt Essay, Research Paper

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In & # 8220 ; Menschheit und Mutter Erde & # 8221 ; , the writer, Arnold Toynbee, describes his point of position refering adult male & # 8217 ; s relationship and interaction with the Earth & # 8217 ; s biosphere and besides gives an penetration on a hereafter development of both.

Tonybee begins with a clear definition of the term biosphere. The biosphere is defined as being the bed of the Earth & # 8217 ; s crust, H2O and air, which surrounds our planet. After this definition, he points out that our biosphere is really little compared to the diameter of the Earth or other dimensions in our solar system or the existence. Up to now, it is the lone habitable topographic point for worlds in this solar system, but over the past centuries adult male has played the most of import function in the pollution and devastation of it. Therefore the hunt for other suited biospheres in our solar system or in other solar systems has become of an increasing importance, but by today & # 8217 ; s scientific cognition, it seems like this is the merely biosphere in this solar system. Assuming that there are other habitable biospheres in the nearby solar systems or even in this one, the planets are excessively far off to be reached within the lifetime of a human being. And it is practically impossible to supply a ship with adequate nutrient for several coevalss in order to make these planets. Therefore our possibilities to work out this job are limited to this biosphere.

Mankind has the ability to destruct our biosphere and will necessarily make so within a certain period of clip if the development does non halt. But adult male can non halt the natural procedure of decay that is due to the fact that the biosphere is non autarkic. The biosphere & # 8217 ; s beginning of energy, the Sun, is known to alter and will finally disappear some twenty-four hours as good. Therefore adult male has no influence on the natural procedure itself.

Toynbee so summarizes the three elements of the biosphere and their relationship to each other. The biosphere consists of affair that did non come to life by following any organic constructions, populating organic affair, and inanimate affair that had one time been alive and organic and still contains organic features. The biosphere is younger than the planet itself, and life and consciousness in the biosphere can ne’er be every bit long as the affair with which it had been combined. Former organic parts make up the biggest group of all three of the above, and is know to holding provided adult male with some of the most of import agencies for the care of life. The fact that such a big sum of the Earth & # 8217 ; s affair had in fact been organic at some point, leads Toynbee to the facets of development. The diverseness and assortment of species and persons had been indispensable for the development of life. The natural choice is hence the natural consequence of this development. And in many instances the extinction of one species had been the consequence of an indirect battle for endurance, because one species did non merely extinct another by feeding on it, but by taking up most of the indispensable beginnings of nutriment. It is besides a given fact that a battle for H2O, nutrient or a female between members of one species normally ends with the also-ran imploring for clemency and the victor allowing it as a response to the capitulation.

Human existences are the lone life-forms who fight each other to decease. Therefore, the development of life was at best parasitic and at worst predator-like. Over the clip, adult male became adult male & # 8217 ; s ain quarry, which sometimes developed into utmost signifiers, such as bondage and cannibalism. Even though slaying is being prosecuted in every state today, most autonomous states have fought, or still fight, against each other in war. They expect their soldiers to kill the enemy soldiers and to put on the line being killed themselves. Even today, this forfeit, the decease for one & # 8217 ; s state, is considered to be an honorable thing. Here Toynbee asks the inquiry whether the advancement of life J

ustifies the hurting and agony, and if adult male can be considered to be worthier than a tree, and a tree worthier than an ameba.

Even though adult male is the most powerful species of all, it still can non last on its ain. Merely adult male can be barbarous and evil because he is the lone 1 who is cognizant of his Acts of the Apostless. The plant-animal relationship, for illustration, could be considered to be merely parasitic, because animate beings feed on workss without nurturing them in any manner. But on the other manus, it can be called common because workss and animate beings work together for the same end, that is to keep the biosphere habitable for both of them. Therefore the advancement and development have brought up both good and bad facets. But this is an wholly human point of position. This might connote that adult male & # 8217 ; s ethical and moral criterions are wholly human and hence arbitrary and that they are irrelevant for the world of life. But since adult male is non merely a witness, but is cognizant of his milieus and able to do ethical determinations, he is a portion of the tree of life, and hence his determinations and criterions are a portion of the biosphere itself and the entire world, which the biosphere is a portion of.

Toynbee here concludes that life and consciousness and good and immoralities are non less existent than the affair with which they are combined in the biosphere.

But in the development of life consciousness did non look until adult male appeared, and it took us until merely late to recognize that the presence of adult male is an hazard for the habitableness of the biosphere. Despite this fact, the extinction of certain species and persons does non look to jeopardize the continuity of life itself. It is instead given that these extinctions make room for other species afterwards.

During the first and longest period of his history, adult male has left less important hints than some of his coevalss. Compared to the plants of some microscopic life-forms, which, for illustration, built the coral reefs, adult male & # 8217 ; s works seem little and irrelevant.

During the Christian epoch, people have realized that our biosphere is a limited hull, but still today, world seems to feign that our biosphere supplies an limitless sum of non-renewable resources. But evidently, there used to be some truth to this, because at the beginning of last century, it seemed impossible that adult male could of all time hold the power to destruct all this. But towards the 3rd one-fourth of the century, the quickly turning scientific sector, made it more and more likely to hold an tremendous influence on the biosphere. Man became the first life-form to derive such an utmost signifier of power that it could destruct our biosphere within a short period of clip. Man is the fist life-form to be more powerful than the biosphere itself. But he can non get away his Nemesis because the biosphere & # 8217 ; s devastation immediately leads to his ain extinction.

Toynbee now mentions Earth & # 8217 ; s first brush with adult male. Since adult male is the lone dweller who belongs to the religious universe every bit good, he is a psychosomatic being who is involved in the stuff and finite universe. His concluding end is to govern over the non-human universe, but in the religious universe it is to govern over himself. Toynbee here suggests that these contrary ends have been mentioned in many celebrated texts, such as the Bible and the plants of the Tao-te-king. In the last one it says that adult male & # 8217 ; s proficient accomplishments are a trap at the same clip. Harmonizing to Sir Thomas Brown, adult male is like an amphibious, he belongs to two different universes, the biosphere every bit good as the religious universe, and he strives for a distinguishable end in each of the two universes, but can ne’er make both of them ; he has to take.

But unluckily, adult male largely chooses the material way, the 1 that promises wealth and success. Toynbee here concludes that adult male can evidently non get away his ain Nemesis unless he changes his attitude basically.

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