Botany Of Desire Analysis

The natural world is seemingly perfect, a multitude of entities exist that allow complex life forms to survive, while permitting various species to live alongside each other. The environment allows for biodiversity to take place; this factor allows for many forms of life to exist in harmony, also allowing for genetic variations of various species to survive. Since humans have been introduced into the environment, we have desired to maintain control of our surroundings by forcing nature to work for us. However, The Botany of Desire considers a plant’s perspective, as it has evolved alongside the human population. In order to thrive as a plant, foods like the potato satisfy our needs, allowing its species to benefit alongside us. The Art of War,
With genetic engineering, human control of nature is taking a giant step forward”(Pollan 188). It starts with our use of language to describe the environment around us. Subject and object are used to describe our reality when they are actually interchangeable terms; we tend to treat things as objects and ourselves as subjects. Plants have perfected certain natural process and us humans gain knowledge from studying plants. Perhaps the potato is actually using us to thrive as a species. We have attempted for centuries to cultivate the land around us to suit our needs, when these plants may be using us to continue their existence and multiply in numbers. Treating ourselves as the subjects disregards the subjective nature of plants, their perspective must be considered if we want to continue having a healthy relationship with
As described in the Art of War, you should only attack when you know you’re going to win, and we are in a losing battle with the elements of nature. Pesticides used in combating insects is dangerous to the environment, ultimately failing to counter the resistance insects have to these chemical, and you do not fight when you are not able to win. Success in life, much like war, is largely based on our relationship with the environment. Instead of trying to maintain our false sense of control, we must act like water, as it is soft and weak in nature; weakness allows water to be malleable and take the form of its container, never having a definitive shape. You are wasting your breath fighting against the current; one must strive in perfectly keeping with the nature of water. Following the qualities of water, “militarists avoid the full and strike the empty, so they first have to recognize emptiness and fullness in others and themselves” (Tzu 76). Weakness allows for greater perception and formlessness allows for ever-changing malleability; this gives you a strategic advantage not just in battle, but also in life itself. This approach to war is just like water, which is soft and yielding, but also breaks the strong and