Corrupted power

“We praise science that has power to predict and control. But didn’t it make us lose our respect and reverence for nature? If we could indeed own and control nature, we would also have the privilege of looking down on it. Power corrupts at the end of the day," American theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman said when describing the term "edge of chaos."

This year was exceptionally hot. Some even said humanity lost in the battle against the climate change. And the effect of climate change would persist if we cannot reduce the level of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon dioxide is emitted when animals breathe, and it is recycled through photosynthesis of plants and birds. This has kept the level of carbon dioxide on earth from rising. But ever since humanity “owned and controlled” nature, and more precisely, after the industrial revolution started, we have been turning carbon, which was living creatures once, into carbon dioxide. As a result, we were able to see the effect of the “corrupted power” this summer.

Many say that it is already too late to reverse the effect. But what we need right now is to recover our “respect and reverence for nature.” Now it is time to reflect on what English philosopher Francis Bacon said about (humanity’s) capacity to predict and control (nature) in the 17th century. "Edge of chaos" explains that the birth of life is only natural if the conditions are met, but at the same time it implies that humanity is at the center of the chaos. There are other creatures on earth than humans. That means we need to respect all living creatures living on earth in the 21 century.