pacavegano reviewed Forest Euphoria by Patricia Kaishian
Valuable and fascinating
5 stars
This book really spoke to me in a number of ways. Let me start with a few quotes that demonstrate some of the themes and goals of this book.
"Am I a woman? Am I nonbinary? To be honest, I'm not sure. ...I consider this ambiguousness a gift of its own. There is value in the in-between and uncategorized, even in a culture that rewards certainty." p 5
[On how slave-holders morally justified slavery] "This process is often referred to as 'dehumanization,' but the language of 'less than human' suggests that other life-forms are perhaps deserving of mistreatment, another false binary. Human exceptionalism--the myth that nature is there to be dominated, that the human species is superior--has alienated humans from nature, literally paving the way for the destruction of our companions." p 17
"People often justify the protection of swamps and other wetlands based on their 'ecosystem services,' the quantifiable …
This book really spoke to me in a number of ways. Let me start with a few quotes that demonstrate some of the themes and goals of this book.
"Am I a woman? Am I nonbinary? To be honest, I'm not sure. ...I consider this ambiguousness a gift of its own. There is value in the in-between and uncategorized, even in a culture that rewards certainty." p 5
[On how slave-holders morally justified slavery] "This process is often referred to as 'dehumanization,' but the language of 'less than human' suggests that other life-forms are perhaps deserving of mistreatment, another false binary. Human exceptionalism--the myth that nature is there to be dominated, that the human species is superior--has alienated humans from nature, literally paving the way for the destruction of our companions." p 17
"People often justify the protection of swamps and other wetlands based on their 'ecosystem services,' the quantifiable monetary value of their utility. But queerness teaches us that someone or something need not be productive--or reproductive, as it were--to be valued, respected, or loved." pp 57-58
"Linnaeus's work was organized around inherent qualities in each species that differentiated them into discrete taxonomic units. But focusing on these kinds of difference led to an overemphasis on the individual and an underappreciation for the ecological web that gives rise to and supports a species. No species exists or evolves in a vacuum." p 84
"While it may not seem polite to compare intersex or otherwise queer people to eels, the mindset of reading comparisons to animals as insulting comes from the same body of logic--as I hope I've established elsewhere in this book--that positions certain people beneath others and animals and nature beneath people. To reckon with this, we must recast these comparisons entirely. To see your own biology mirrored in the body of a mysterious, metamorphosing, magnetotactic being is magic." pp 178-179
The philosophy and broad examination of science in this book is woven amid, and developed by, many fascinating details about the likes of crows, fungi, cicadas, lichen, eels and ants, as well as ponderings on the author's own life. This is a valuable and fascinating book that I would recommend to anyone.