I must have my nose far too deep in my books because I think climate change is facinating. It's too bad because I like to talk about the possibility of impending planetary doom. I'm curious to see how people squirm under existential questions... that's it, I've decided- I'm officially cut off from cyber punk and dark Russian novels!
Now the question is really, 'is Climate Change really Lord Voldemort? No, of course not. Maybe? I don't know. The name is somewhat telling however, of his true nature. Vol-de-mort, similar to the words "thief" voleur and "death" mort in French, really was trying to steal himself away from death, or steal life from others. But what really strikes me as similar is that both Climate Change and Voldemort use destructive threats and are shrouded in mystery. Is it going Voldemort or Climate Change kill us all? Can we even talk about it if he/it is going to kill us all?
I'm curious about the finitude of life and I'm curious when people find it very problematic. So when I saw this article from Vice Magazine titled 'What Are We Supposed To Do With Our Lives Now That The World Is Ending?' it seem especially interesting and revealing. It is really a point blank statement of the human condition of the Vice readership- a demographic I'd consider mostly "millennial" and those up to about 45-year-old, Westerners, interested in art and perverse, trendy, pukey, and often far-left political issues.
The article in question discusses (I use that word liberally) a study just reviewed by UK-based news outlet, The Guardian. The article is about the implications from a new NASA study that portends the end of civilization as we know it in the next few decades as a result from climate change. Let's just say the tone is a lot less, 'Hey, check out the implications of this science!' and a lot more, 'Holy fuck, the world's ending! Ahh!!!'. If you scroll to the comments section, it's even worse.
Honestly, fatalism bums me out. But really, it's the effect it has on people that makes me distrust it as a philosophical approach. Take for instance the Harry Potter series, now granted I didn't read it and the movies sometimes put me to sleep, but I know that it contains an important trope featured throughout literary history- The Story of True Names. Harry Potter's arch nemesis wasn't always called Lord Voldemort, and threats to human mortality weren't always called Climate Change.
A Short History of True Names
J.K. Rowling is kind of genius in what she does, but she wasn't the first to make use of the concept of True Names. The idea that an object or being or even an adjective has a name that is truer than than any other has an ancient history in philosophy, religion and folklore. Plato explored this idea in Cratylus, it's the Hellenistic Judaic divine notion of 'logos', it plays a vital role in Kabbalism and to some extent Sufism. Wiccans sometimes take a secret magical name after initiation, a ritual which relies on the same power inherent in the knowledge of a being's True Name.
Western Europeans are familiar with the story of Rumpelstiltskin, the story of a magical imp who appears to young girl trapped by a cruel king and forced to spin wheat into gold. Rumpelstiltskin gives her three chances to guess the imp's True Name and thereby relinquish his manipulative power over her.
Of Sanskrit origin is "Om", written universally as ॐ, which is sometimes referred to as praṇava, literally "that which is sounded out loudly". In various religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sihkism, view ॐ more or less as a seed syllable- the sound that creates the universe. This idea of sound generative power is similar in concept to the True Name of God in the Western world.
So there's a long history of people telling stories about the power of vocalizing, and particularly of naming- so what?
That's where the story of stories comes in. By telling the story, by vocalizing object's/idea's True Name, power is wrest from it. When Harry Potter (*spoiler alert*) learns the True Name of Lord Voldemort to be Tom Riddle, Jr., Voldemort/Riddle's story is fully revealed and Harry and his friends are able to trace his path from murdering his family member, to splitting his soul, to inevitably becoming the terror that menaces them.
Re-engineering Climate Change
The emerging field of Ecolinguistics is circling in on just this concept of True Names. Through all kinds of angles, through many types of critical discourses, from many different specializations, ecolinguistics seeks the exact words that are being used to frame the discussions surrounding climate change. In his recent essay, "An Ecolinguistic Approach to Critical Discourse Studies", Dr. Arren Stibbe guides readers through various techniques used by academics in this field. Stibbe brings together philosophies from ecopsychology, ecofeminism, deep ecology, and "all the other 'eco' disciplines'" (Stibbe 125) to provide a theoretical tool set for the study of Climate Change's True Name.
If you've notice, I've used 'Big-C' capital letters to write 'Climate Change' throughout the essay. I've named it in this way because it is a Big Idea. It is a mighty and powerful idea, and also kind of vague idea.
The idea of climate change is layered with so much baggage that it creates a True Veil that shrouds the concepts it supposedly should elucidate. Let's just call climate change what it really is-
'Climate Change' is the term given for disasters created by large industrial polluters.
No- I wish it were that simple. Truth is, the times we live in are complex and we need diverse approaches. Language and naming are important parts of finding ways to deal with change.
Now for a banishing spell, if you will. Climate change, I'm calling you out. We're learning your true names and your end is nigh.Vice magazine readers- keep that sky up there where it belongs, it's not falling down yet.
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