Environmental History: Religion, Philosophy, and Nature

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, concepts, and figures related to ancient societies' changing ideas about nature, the impact of technology and urbanization, and the rise of new philosophical and religious systems as presented in the lecture notes.

Metallurgy

The science and technology of extracting metals from their ores and modifying them for use, significantly shaping early human societies through tools and weapons.

Traditionalism (thought system)

A system of thought that inherits and adapts older religious and philosophical ideas to changing societal contexts.

Reformist Philosophies

Systems of thought that shift away from tradition, introducing new ways of thinking about humans' place in the world.

Monotheism

The emergence of one-god religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which shaped new ideas about human relationships with the natural world.

Mining

An early human activity that created permanent scars on landscapes through the extraction of metals like tin and copper, leading to social (e.g., forced labor) and environmental impacts.

Hinduism

An ancient religion with roots in the Indus River Valley, retaining early traditions while adapting to agricultural/herding societies, characterized by reverence for animals (e.g., cows) and gods often linked to nature.

The Mahabharata

A foundational Hindu epic (3rd c. CE) that reflects agricultural society pushing back wilderness, featuring stories like Krishna and Arjuna burning forests and killing wild animals.

Shintoism

A Japanese religion rooted in nature worship, believing in kami (spirits) inhabiting places and animals, with practices like veneration of sacred places and taboos against clearing forests.

Kami

Spirits believed in Shintoism to inhabit places and animals, inspiring deep respect for nature and fear of spiritual repercussions if balance is broken.

Pythagoras (and Pythagoreans)

Ancient Greek philosophers who saw mathematics as revealing cosmic truths, believed in the connectedness of all life as one organism, diminishing human centrality, and practiced extreme dietary restrictions.

Buddhism

Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), emphasizing core principles like 'do no harm' to humans, animals, or plants, respect for all life, and seeing nature as a site of meditation and enlightenment.

Judaism

A monotheistic religion whose Torah outlines laws about human behavior, including environmental rules like not cutting down fruit trees in war and a prohibition on 'wanton destruction,' emphasizing stewardship of God's creation.

Christianity

A monotheistic religion building on Judaism, centered on Jesus, often associated with nature, teaching simple living, appreciating nature as God's gift, and humans as stewards of creation, with a dual interpretation of protecting or having dominion over nature.

Hippodamus of Miletus

An ancient Greek urban planner who advocated for planned cities with sacred, public, and private spaces, and proposed grid layouts for efficient, functional cities.

Aqueducts

Infrastructure solutions used in Ancient Athens and Rome to divert water into cities, addressing challenges of water access stemming from rapid urban growth.

Plague of Athens

A historical event demonstrating the consequences of poor sanitation in ancient cities, as contaminated streets and limited sewer systems contributed to the spread of disease.

Plato

An ancient Greek philosopher who advocated for smaller ideal cities (around 8,000 citizens), concerned about populations exceeding natural resource capacities.

Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher who connected economy and ecology, defining a 'natural economy' (sustaining life through agriculture, pastoralism, hunting) versus an 'unnatural economy' (trade, luxury, profit leading to imbalance).

Natural Economy (Aristotle)

Activities like agriculture, pastoralism, and hunting, which Aristotle viewed as directly sustaining life and representing a balanced interaction with nature.

Unnatural Economy (Aristotle)

Activities like trade, luxury, and profit-seeking, which Aristotle believed could lead to imbalance and detachment from vital natural resources.

Roman Empire Expansion

A historical period marked by Rome's outward growth, taking over the Italian Peninsula, Egypt, North Africa, and eventually much of Europe by 100 CE, driven by militarism and an extractive economy.

Coliseum

A Roman amphitheater that hosted mass slaughter of animals brought from across the empire, leading to ecological changes through the removal of local predators.

Cloaca Maxima

Rome's major sewer system, which carried human waste into the Tiber River, contributing to downstream contamination and overall urban environmental challenges.

Lucretius

A Roman philosopher (c. 99–55 BCE) and author of 'De Rerum Natura,' who focused on the perishability of the world, soil depletion, and environmental decline, viewing nature and resources as finite.

De Rerum Natura

Lucretius's work ('On the Nature of Things') which explored themes of the world's impermanence, soil depletion, and environmental decline, rooted in a cosmology of four elements and the belief in a mortal Earth.

Seneca

A Roman philosopher (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE) and author of 'Naturales Quaestiones,' who observed that human misuse of nature could turn benefits into harm, connecting environmental collapse to human actions and mismanagement.

Naturales Quaestiones

Seneca's work ('Natural Questions') that presented observations on how human misuse of nature could transform advantages into detriments, highlighting the consequences of poor environmental management.

Classiarii

Roman military laborers who served as rowers, builders, and forest clearers, playing a crucial role in the empire's infrastructure development and resource extraction, especially timber.

Trajan’s Column

A Roman monument depicting military expansion, which provides historical evidence of deforestation, the appearance of forests, and the social hierarchy of the Roman Empire.