Death in The Garden
Death in The Garden
#53 The Quantitative Cosmology - A Reading by Maren
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#53 The Quantitative Cosmology - A Reading by Maren

On this episode of “Death in The Garden,” we’re sharing a more produced podcast version of the recording of The Quantitative Cosmology: The Historical Precedent for George Monbiot's Worldview and its Implications Today for our podcast listeners who might not be subscribed to our Substack.

In this essay, I (Maren) explore the historical roots of the mechanistic, reductionistic, and ultimately quantitative worldview that undergirds society today and dictates how we understand the world. I use George Monbiot and his book Regenesis as a jumping off point to discuss how this worldview was first conceived by Plato, Pythagoras, and Aristotle, was gestated in the thousands of years following with Ptolemaic mathematics, was ultimately born through Kepler and Galileo, and was raised lovingly by Bacon and Descartes. I break down how this worldview has disenchanted and abstracted our connection to life itself, to the point where we deny our own felt experience if it isn’t backed up by numbers and data, as was evident (to me) in reading Monbiot’s book. At the end, I discuss the utility of this worldview, and deeply question the path we’re on, which is taking for granted this worldview as the only way of understanding the world, and our place within it.

We hope you enjoy this reading, and please, if you haven’t, subscribe to our Substack. Consider becoming a paid subscriber so we are more able to produce essays and researched content like this in the future. Or if you’d prefer, consider joining our Patreon community. We just created a new tier for $3 a month, which is less than a cup of coffee and helps cover some of Patreon’s fees!

Editing: Jake Marquez & Maren Morgan

Music: “Dusty Room” by Evgeny Grinko

Discussion about this podcast

Death in The Garden
Death in The Garden
“Death in The Garden” is a multimedia project that explores the complex intersection of the cycle of life and death, holism, climate change, civilization, ecology, and health from the perspective of two incredibly curious millennials on a journey to make sense of a very nuanced world. In addition to those listed above, our podcast highlights topics like regenerative agriculture, food, psychology, spirituality, politics, society, and our overall relationship with Nature and the ecosystems we are part of.