Man, the crowning glory of creation?

Who actually had this idea of elevating homo sapiens above every other species?

Philipp Blom explores the question, because this suggested hierarchy has obviously led to what we are now struggling with.

Brief description of the publisher:

"Subdue the earth" - Philipp Blom's universal history of the subjugation of nature

"Subdue the earth": around 3,000 years ago, the author of Genesis put this sentence into the mouth of his Creator. This gave birth to the idea that mankind has a special position on earth and is allowed to exploit its resources ruthlessly. It was so strong that it spread across the entire planet. Anyone who resisted it had to deal with colonizers and profiteers who invoked supposedly higher values. In his universal history of the environment, Philipp Blom tells the story of the subjugation of nature, the consequences of which are leading humanity to the edge of the abyss today. Only if we free ourselves from the delusion that we are above nature will we have a chance to survive.

In 368 pages, the author sheds light not so much on the actual interventions and encroachments on nature, but rather on the development towards taking them for granted.

An interesting examination of a question that is actually asked far too rarely. Completely free of esotericism or a hocus-pocus view of things. Rather a cultural-historical treatise from the perspective of the Central European.

"His search for clues unearths much that is familiar, but the way he puts together and scrutinizes his many finds, never treating the important in a cursory manner, but rather stringently following his trail along the concrete and sometimes seemingly remote, while remaining above all a narrator, makes the book an eye-opening journey." Petra Ahne; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 17.01.23

"It is an essential part of Blom's explanations, and incidentally without annoying kid gloves, to confront man with his own hubris. To then, rather elegantly than brutally, topple him from his throne and assign him his true place." Sylvie-Sophie Schindler, Der Freitag, 21.10.22

"Exciting to read pages ... written in an erudite and stimulating way." Günther Kaindlstorfer, BR2 Diwan, 15.02.23

pro.earth conclusion:

We warmly recommend this intellectually highly interesting excursion into the development of human self-image and hope for a general development towards questioning entrenched patterns and programs. 💚