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Theoretical Applications

• Philosophy of Technology

  During Dr. Borgmann's "Philosophy of Technology" seminar, we discussed topics ranging from Bill McKibben’s claim that human cultures have effectively ended a separate conception of nature to Heidegger and the importance of having focal things to root people within the world. Dr. Borgmann expressed his hope that students would leave his class with an awareness of the importance of focal practices in their daily lives and an inclination toward engagement in the world, especially while living through an age marked by constant technological advancement. I was particularly interested in the later content of the course which discussed Heidegger's concept of focal things as a means of challenging the technological paradigm and a brief overview of Borgmann's ideas on the device paradigm and focal practices. In his book, Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, Borgmann argues that devices “dissolve the coherent and engaging character of the pretechnological world of things. In a device, the relatedness of the world is replaced by a machinery, but the machinery is concealed, and the commodities, which are made available by a device, are enjoyed without the encumbrance of or the engagement with a context” (47). Devices, therefore, are getting in the way of a deep engagement within the world that we once had in a pretechnical context. Focal practices, as defined by Borgmann, are activities that people do consistently enough to enable deeper engagement with the material world and make clear the debilitating effects of our modern technological environment. The concept of focal practices was helpful in shaping my thinking on how running can help restore depth to people's lives, and my decision to put on a watchless, competitionless run was a practical way to engage directly with these ideas and reconnect with the natural world without unnecessary distractions and complications.

• Thoreau

  The seminar on Henry David Thoreau offered a critical study of the American transcendentalist and his major works. Some of the main themes Thoreau discusses throughout his works include the virtue of simplicity, cultural criticism, a deep engagement with the natural world, and the importance of inward self-reflection. We spent a considerable amount of time working through Thoreau's magnum opus, Walden, which describes his experiment living near Walden Pond, and his idea of living deliberately to understand himself on a deep level in order to live a self-fulfilling life. Thoreau criticizes modern society and the capitalist economy, which he believes leads to a life characterized by quiet desperation and alienation from nature and one's sense of self. I took a special interest in a later essay, and lecture, called "Walking," wherein Thoreau makes an extreme statement for the primacy of the natural world over culture and provides readers with a way to liberate themselves through ecocentric identification. Thoreau believes that wildness, or the natural world, is a source of self-renewal and provides opportunities for self-reflection and a heightened experience of life. These ideas resonated, in part, with the sort of experience I seek to get out of running.

• Issues in the Anthropocene

  The seminar, "Issues in the Anthropocene," discussed ethical issues arising in a proposed new geologic epoch called "The Anthropocene." The term references the unprecedented modern era in which humans have become the predominant force shaping the planet's ecosystems and geology. Within Environmental Ethics, the Anthropocene provokes discourse surrounding a harmful human/nature dualism within the Western rationalist tradition. For me, some of the most interesting discussions center around human relationships with other humans and non-humans, and the call for collective action to address ethical issues like climate change. I focused my studying on the works of three women, Val Plumwood, Donna Haraway, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, to better highlight the interrelatedness and interdependence of all beings. Plumwood critiques the human/nature dualism and advocates for an ecological consciousness that recognizes the interwoven and continuous relationship between humans and non-human beings. Kimmerer emphasizes the importance of reciprocity and responsibility in our relationships with the natural world, where all beings are relatives within the same interdependent, interrelated community. And Haraway, in her book Staying With the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, discusses building kin-like interspecies relationships and the concept of curious visiting that helps provide a wider view of our communities in collaboration with our non-human relatives. I was interested in these issues for helping to shape my view of how we can become more connected to a sense of community and place through the practice of running.