We Were Never Modern

Will Gerber                                                                                                      150 words

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wrg1@geneseo.edu

 

We Have Never Been Modern

By Will Gerber

 

The first chapter of Bruno Latour’s We Have Never Been Modern is a commentary on ‘modern’ society’s attempt to categorize existence into rigid sciences. Latour criticizes the way we insist upon dividing the social and natural sciences into two absolutely fixed and completely separate matters. He claims that the two are entirely codependent and should be studied and discussed as such

The Greek Tree in the center of campus is a fitting illustration of Latour’s argument. One may see the tree through a natural lens, studying it as a biological specimen, or, through a social lens, regarding fraternal organizations’ effort to recruit them. However, few modern people would observe the entire picture, the way that we used the natural world to further our social causes.

One thought on “We Were Never Modern”

  1. I really like your last paragraph on The Greek Tree because you do a great job on summarizing all of the author’s main points, but at the same time you also neatly intertwine your opinion into the concluding paragraph.

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