1 paragraph discussion post

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This week we'll discuss Mander's First Argument. What do you think of his perceptions of our changing reality? In what ways do you find his arguments convincing? Do you see elements of ethos, logos, and pathos?Are there times you feel Mander overstates his case, or is not effective? Did reading the first argument make you think differently about your reality?

Specifically, it's interesting to look at his "Eight Ideal Conditions for the Flowering of Autocracy" on page 97. Do you see these conditions in our society? Do we live in an autocracy?

Chris:

One point of his argument I found convincing was his description of modern offices. The term "sensory-reduction chambers" is extremely accurate. The employer wants you to only focus on work when you're in the office, so they deliberately design it to minimize distractions and reduce any sensory reactions you might have. After reading that, I paid close attention to my work environment and noticed the lack of any sensory stimulation. However, I didn't find it to be an issue because I understand that while at work, I should be focused on working. It was still interesting to analyze my work place after reading Mander's argument. I now find myself being more self-aware of my surroundings and the culture that we live in nowadays so for that reason alone, I would say his argument is mostly effective while being overstated at times.

As for the "Eight Ideal Conditions for the Flowering of Autocracy," I do see some of these conditions in our society. Number seven in particular, "centralize knowledge and information," really jumped out at me. I took this point and equated it to all of the technology we have available at our fingertips. With Google and a smartphone, everyone has access to all of the same information at the touch of a button. Everyone can read the same news story, watch the same game, or listen to the same music if they choose to do so. While I don't believe our society is a true autocracy, it's easy to see some of the conditions that Mander writes about.

Jonas

One argument that Mander convinced me on is his argument that most Americans spend their lives within environments created by human beings. He compares living in a city versus spending time in a forest. When walking through a forest, we have a direct experience with nature and how the planet works. On the other hand, when living in a city everything has been mediated by human beings to fit their lifestyle. I think Mander hits this issue right on the head, without overstating his case. This arguement about the mediation of experience really opened my eyes to how we as humans are being deprived of natural experiences.

After reading the eight ideal condition of the flowering of autocracy I have found a few similarities in our society. For example, step number 3 is to serparate people from each other. With things like social media, concerts, and sporting events people have much less social interaction with each other. I only believe that step number 6 is relevant in today’s society. I feel like our society encourages the use of drugs. Many famous people who can influence their fans are dying or being hospitalized from drug overdoses.

Michael

In Mander's argument one, he really discusses the fact that people don't believe in their own thoughts anymore and that they need professionals like scientists or some professional in the related field. He explains that even when there are self evident beliefs they will still doubt themselves more often than not. I am pretty convinced by his argument because I sometimes catch myself doubting my own work and need reassurance. Not only does Mander explain that he also discusses how many of us humans have also started to almost lose touch with nature. This concerned me when he shared the story about his son recently asked him who built Mount Tamalpais. After reading into his son's thought process he realized that this could be because we as humans mainly surround ourselves around man-made environments. I also highly considered his thoughts on office spaces. I think his opinion is validated, after having first hand experience working in a state office I have actually realized that these are really "sensory reduction chambers". Everything inside is a neutral color, completely silent, cold and it seems like this is all in order to minimize the most amount of distraction as possible. However, if I was an employer I would want this as well, I can respect this because even when I am doing homework I like to be in an environment where distractions are minimized. I feel like Mander's argument is pretty effective.. after reading the first argument I definitely am more aware of my reality. I do in fact see some of these ideal conditions for the flowering of autocracy in our current society. I believe we live in some characteristics of autocracy, the condition that stood out to me most from the list was number (8). This one really caught my attention, mainly because there's an ideal happiness that is supposed to come along with living a structured life. Even some of our parents may want us to have certain careers or go to college when those specific routes in life might not work for every individual. Many people want and expect the results but in reality there are so many people that are dissatisfied or unhappy with them.

Deanna

One argument that Mander convinced me on is his argument that most Americans spend their lives within environments created by human beings. He talks about living in the city and how living in the forest is two complete different environments and things. When living in a city everything has been mediated by human beings to fit their lifestyle and what they want and like. And then for when walking through a forest, we have a direct experience with nature and how things work in the forest. Mander makes excellent points when talking about this issue. This argument showed me how us humans do not go out in the forest or wild enough.

After reading the eight ideal condition of the flowering of autocracy I have found a few things out about our society. For example, step 6is very relevant and a real issue in today's society and world as a whole. I personally feel as if our society today promotes the use of drugs and alcohol and others things of that sort. A lot of celebrities that people look up to and admire are doing drugs and things of that sort, so it then makes their fans want to do that stuff because the fans ultimately just want to be like the person they admire and look up to, not really knowing how dangerous that stuff could be. Many of these people doing these activities are dying from overdose or being seriously hospitalized from overdose. And the sad truth is no matter how many times a celebrity suffers from