Domination of Nature

The phrase domination of nature implies a neo-Marxist interpretation of the adverse effects that modern society has had on the natural environment. In this interpretation, ecological destruction by society must be understood as being deeply rooted in contemporary social attitudes toward the natural environment. These attitudes see the natural environment as something that must be controlled or dominated by humans through science and technological advancements. Although commonly associated with 17th-century scientific thought, the phrase gained popularity in the mid-1960s, when widespread concern for the environmental impact of industrial society took off in the developed world. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, concerns about the effect of industrial society on the environment, and its link to attitudes of mastery over nature predominant in the fields of science and technology, have been raised anew as large-scale threats such as genetic modification, global climate change, and ozone depletion have become clearly visible.

The popularization of this attitude toward the environment is often associated with the one-time influential scientific philosopher and Lord Chancellor of England, Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626), whose works popularized an inductive methodology for inquiry, [Page 108]which indeed is considered a forerunner of the modern scientific method. Bacon held that we must learn the secrets of nature and gain control over “her”, and consequently social life would improve because of the knowledge gained. In other words, the driving force behind science, and progress more broadly defined, has been technological control of the natural environment and ourselves, and this was necessary to improve societies and their surroundings. Indeed, the domination of nature was deemed necessary for progress. Bacon believed that “the real business and fortunes of the human race” was the conquering of nature. Nature must be “forced out of her natural state and squeezed and molded” by “the hand of man”. Humans must free themselves from nature, which must be “bound into service” and made a “slave”. This philosophy went hand-in-hand with mercantilist exploration and the conquest of the Americas and Africa—conquests through which, as Bacon himself reflected, “we have seen what floods of treasure have flowed into Europe by that action [of imperialism], and marveled at how infinite is the access to territory and empire by the same enterprise”. Conquests over the mundane world and its uncivilized occupants were viewed as dignified and necessary projects that were justified, in that they would improve nature for the benefits of mankind.

Modern science and technology are seen as encapsulating this desire to overcome the limits set by the natural world. Indeed, although originating with the Enlightenment, the vision of humans dominating nature and the pursuit of material wealth through scientific and technological progress continues to this day. However, critics point out that the domination of nature clearly benefits certain factions of society and supports certain ideologies over others. For example, C. S. Lewis noted that the pursuit of the domination of nature is something that benefits scientists and their sponsors but that may not always benefit the majority of society as the dogma postulates. The domination of nature, in other words, often includes the uneven access to resources, knowledge, and power. The close financial relationship between science and technology and the military, industrial agriculture, and economic development in the industrialized world suggest that technological control is designed to pursue a particular version of progress at the behest of powerful actors in government and the corporate world.

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