Naturally?

    I mowed the lawn today, but the mower ran out of gas about halfway through the lawn.  I checked the gasoline can to see if there were any fumes left that I could fan into the tank, but the can was empty as well.  I could have driven to the gas station to get some more but I figured I might as well just finish off the lawn with the weedwacker.  The effect was interesting.  The half near the street has a very uniform look with normal mown lines.  The section above it now has a natural pattern in it more like brush strokes than the standard layered look of a mowed lawn.  The juxtaposition of the natural and artificial patterns next to each other made me think about how we think of the word organic and how we call certain things natural and certain things unnatural and why we sometimes prefer one over the other.  Take food for example.  We like the idea of organic food.  I think it stems from the idea that we are what we eat, and we think of ourselves as natural creatures so we want our bodies to use natural minerals and chemicals to sustain itself rather than something formulated in a laboratory.  The funny thing is that anything made in a laboratory is made from natural ingredients, it has just been broken down into very small natural components and rearranged by humans, who in theory are also natural beings.  I think one of the most unnatural things that is fundamental to human life is the fact that we have built walls between ourselves and nature.  My guess is that anyone reading this is between four right now.  Houses are barriers to keep nature at a comfortable distance and we aren’t very happy when nature crosses that line.  I also spent a few minutes repelling an ant invasion in the kitchen today.  Dogs are a kind of emissary between the human and the natural, somehow they seem to speak our emotional language while retaining the label “natural.”  Haircuts are also interesting, and bring me back to the lawn.  Some people have very natural hair.  They might cut it, but for the most part they just let their hair fall naturally around their head.  Some people use ten different products simultaneously to get that businesslike, in control look.

    Anyway, one of the most fascinating things about nature as that I just can’t decide whether people are natural or not.  That’s why I think it’s a little funny that stuff made in labs and factories are the most unnatural things we can think of, because they were made with human ingenuity and we tend to think of human behavior as fairly natural and when we say someone is psychotic, we mean that they think or act unnaturally.  So there seem to be two kinds of nature.  The kind that’s the opposite of insanity and the kind that is the opposite of… well birds and trees and the sky.  Anyway, for my final paper in Western Lit. class I wrote about human nature and I figured that would make an easy blog post, especially since I had some extra thoughts on the topic today.  Dr. Lundin sent out the prompt for the essay two and a half hours before it was due, that way we didn’t have to spend a ton of time studying for it while we were trying to get ready for all our other finals.  Thank you Dr. Lundin.  I have a slight hesitation posting a paper I wrote for class on my blog.  Maybe it’s because it would be considered plagiarism to use something from a blog for a school assignment, and it just seems like the two shouldn’t mix.  Anyway, here it is in all its finals week madness, but perhaps there’s method in’t:

---

Nature is a commonly used word that is surprisingly hard to define. It is easier to categorize things as natural or unnatural than to actually define the word. Trees and rocks fit pretty neatly into the “natural” category. Ghosts and demons generally fall into the “unnatural” category. The one thing that may be hardest to categorize is human beings, and even more specifically human nature. There are some things about humans that do not seem entirely natural. Human psychology is understood better now than ever before, but it is hard to believe that the entire function of the human mind can be whittled down to the firing of synapses. When someone is seen behaving strangely, someone may call it “unnatural.” But if humans are entirely natural, everything they do really is natural and there is no possible way for someone to act unnaturally. In Paradise Lost, Satan is disgusted with an uncorrupted state of nature and sets up his own definition of nature in a state of rebellion. As a result of this rebellion, both types of nature remain in conflict over human nature. For convenience I will refer to the two forms of nature as communal nature and independent nature. The conflict between them can be observed in human action.

This conflict between independent nature and communal nature is brought to a head in King Lear in which Edmund claims his independence from any claims on his loyalty and sets himself up as independently working to achieve his own advancement, while King Lear suffers for this new view of nature as he no longer receives the reverence that he considers natural. Edmund claims the side of nature in his first line in the play. The irony in this is that he was born out of wedlock and is considered an unnatural child. According to communal nature, having sexual relations outside of marriage is a form of breaking the faith of a marriage agreement. Therefore, according to the communal nature, Edmund is unnatural. Edmund is willing to be unnatural in the communal sense. However, he still claims nature as his goddess. Therefore, he must be thinking of some other kind of nature. “Why -------? wherefore base” he asks, “When my dimensions are as well compact, my mind as generous, and my shape as true as honest madam’s issue” (King Lear Act 1 Scene 2, lines 6-9). In his mind, because his physical features are not impaired, he is equally natural to his legitimate brother, and as he has sworn fealty to nature, he may even gain the upper hand. In the independent nature, rank and position are ends and not means. Independent nature does not give titles based on birthrights, it grants its honors to those who are willing to make use of nature’s tools and make their way up in the world by whatever gifts nature has given them such as strength and mental acuity.

King Lear’s daughters, Goneril and Regan also accept this new view of nature as an independent means to rank and wealth. Once their father has given them the keys to the kingdom, they lock him out of it. King Lear is literally left out in the cold as soon as he has given authority to his daughters. They do not see any reason to give aid to an elderly man who will be using their resources and undermining their authority. The fact that he is their father does not have any bearing on the subject. A few characters do cling to the communal view of nature. Edgar, Gloucester’s other son, guides his father once he is blinded. Gloucester risks his own position in order to give the king shelter. Cordelia, Lear’s daughter comes to Lear’s aid when he has been driven from his kingdom. Meanwhile Edmund, Regan and Goneril act unnaturally according to the communal nature. These characters act unnaturally according to the independent view of nature. In the communal sense, it is unnatural for Lear to be left in nature’s fury during a storm. In the independent sense, it is unnatural for Kent to retain loyalty to Lear after being banished by him. The two natures oppose each other and what is natural in one sense is unnatural in the other.

In Hamlet the two natures are harder to differentiate. Before the play even begins, Hamlet’s uncle aligns himself with the independent nature. He kills his brother, the current king, in order to take the position for himself. This leaves Hamlet in the uncomfortable duty of obeying his father by killing the king (his uncle). One question that may be haunting Hamlet as he tries to decide when and whether or not to take his vengeance, is which side of nature he would take by killing his uncle. In a sense, he would be advancing himself to the kingship by killing his uncle, and as a subject of the king, he owes loyalty to him. Regicide, especially of a relative clearly seems to be communally unnatural. On the other hand, Hamlet’s uncle has already turned his back on communal nature. If Hamlet did not kill his uncle, he would leave his duty to his father unfulfilled. As Hamlet ponders this predicament, he must be searching frantically for an option that does not require him to kill his uncle or live with the death of his father unavenged. Hamlet can escape nature entirely by ending his own life. In a sense, Hamlet’s life is no longer natural. His uncle has acted unnaturally, and Hamlet faces consequences because of it. Hamlet is now in an unnatural situation, which changes the status quo. Perhaps, in this situation, where there is no natural option, it would be more natural to end all his intercourse with this impossible nature and make his own life unnaturally short. Hamlet proclaims how deeply this condition disturbs him, “O that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self slaughter! O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world” (Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 2, Lines 129-134). Now he has three options. He must either live knowing that he has not fulfilled his natural duty to his father. Or he can betray his duty to his uncle and king by killing him. Finally he can end his own life and turn away from the conflict of nature, but in doing so will be turning his back on nature and God’s command.

Milton gives a perspective on the origin of this conflict in Paradise Lost. To begin with Satan has decided to reject God’s communal nature and engage in his own quest for an independent nature. He does succeed in achieving independence, but he is unable to take authority over God’s creation. When Satan hears that God is forming a new creation, he decides to go and see for himself. As soon as Satan enters the world he ponders the nature of humanity. He observes that they are “earthborn perhaps, not spirits, yet to heavenly spirits bright” (Paradise Lost, book 4 lines 360-361). He sees that they are in a state of communal nature. They submit to the position that God has placed them in, which means fulfilling their duties to God and to each other. Perhaps Satan finds this unbearable, because he sees the incredible beauty inherent in this relationship. He has given up his place in communal nature to strive towards his own independent advancement. This sacrifice has cost him dearly. Perhaps he could return to community, but that would be unnatural from the position of rebellion where he now stands. Rather than attempt some sort of return, Satan decides to implement his new form of nature in this unperverted world. He tempts Eve and Adam to step out of their positions in community into individual, independent natures. However, the old nature still remains in some form and so both natures strive for control over individuals and groups of individuals to determine their actions. Everyone must choose which nature to claim as their goddess, the independent nature or the communal nature.