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Faith 2.0 in the Mastery of Nature

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The Fossil-Fuelled Climate Crisis

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Abstract

The development of science, technology, and rational organization led to beliefs that humans were mastering nature, even replacing it. This belief collapsed when nature struck back with epidemics, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, technological accidents, etc. Even technological innovations unleashed harmful forces of nature, such as global warming. This chapter argues that faith in mastering nature was not eliminated but reformed: faith 1.0 replaced by faith 2.0. To avoid costly sacrifices to mitigate global warming, there is faith that just-in-time technological fixes will enable societies to ride climate changes. Technological improvements of efficiency, robustness, adaptation, and resilience will give humanity capacities to manage whatever nature hurls at society. Since technological success is uncertain, it amounts to faith in the unforeseeable. The chapter underscores the importance of the distinction between hope for technological solutions and reliance on them.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Raymond Murphy

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Correspondence to Raymond Murphy .

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Murphy, R. (2021). Faith 2.0 in the Mastery of Nature. In: The Fossil-Fuelled Climate Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53325-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53325-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53324-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53325-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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