The Process of Loving Your Monsters

The time of human beings roaming the earth may seem minuscule in the grand scheme of the universe. However, in the time that we have spent here, human beings have managed to create, invent, and innovate a world in which technology and humans work hand in hand. Humankind has come to rely on the technological innovations which power the world. Computers, cars, planes, weapons, agricultural technologies, medical advancements, you name it, human beings have worked tirelessly to create technologies that make the world just a bit easier of a place to live in. 

There will always be those who devote their lives to innovation, just as the many who have come before them. But what happens to the created that falls by the wayside? Does the drive for constant innovation trump the achievements of what has been created? Is the chase for a newer, faster, better technology automatically discount the validity and importance of the creations that came before it? 

Bruno Latour explores this idea of creation vs. the created in his piece on Loving Your Monsters. Latour uses the example of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Most people who think of Frankenstein believe that the fault lies with the abomination created by Dr. Frankenstein, a monster born out technology and human. But what we fail to understand is that Frankenstein the monster is not the one at fault here. The fault lies with his creator who abandoned him from the moment he came to life. Had the Frankenstein been nurtured and cared for properly as it deserved, the outcome of his demeanor would have been entirely different.

Those who are involved in the idea of Political Ecology must remember that the creations garnered from hard work and innovation must be cared for properly instead of being overshadowed by the next great technological innovation. Latour makes the comparison creations and children, stating that they must be properly maintained and well-cared for.

As society continues to progress into modernization and the lines that divide technology and nature/politics/religion/moral beliefs begin to blur, a sect of society proposes a retreat into the old archaic ways. We cannot leave our creations unattended nor take a step back into medieval times. The only way for us as a race to progress is to keep moving forward, keep imagining, keep innovating, keep creating. I do not dispute this fact. I only share in Latour’s word of caution and heed his advice on caring for the created.