The Lorax... Opens in Scottsdale

This looks like a good movie.......  

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss is a light-hearted but cautionary tale with a critically important message. If we do not collectively take responsibility for the stewardship of the environment, then our own world will soon be like the one that the Lorax left behind. Left to the devices of greed-based business interests, the resources of our world are being consumed at an abominable rate. And soon, they will all be gone. So while the Once-ler did eventually see the error of his greedy ways, it was already close to too late for his world.

One underlying message contained within the Lorax that is a good source of philosophical discussion is the idea of the interconnectedness of the things that live in an ecosystem. The ecosystem within the story completely falls apart when just one thing is taken away. As more and more of the Truffula trees get cut down, the area becomes less and less capable of supporting the multitude of other species all relying on the trees, and each other. So by removing the trees, things go completely out of balance. From a philosophical perspective, interesting questions may raised about what it means for things to be interdependent like they are in an ecosystem. Viewed from one perspective, the different species in an ecosystem are like parts of a delicate, but efficiently functioning whole. But what is this thing called "an ecosystem" that other things are parts of? What is its nature as a sort of entity in itself? If one views the ecosystem as an independent entity, this raises all sorts of ethical question about what our social responsibilities are to our own ecosystem, and to the earth as one big interconnected ecosystem.

Answers to many of the questions about our social responsibility to the ecosystem seem currently to be driven by the notion ofsustainability. In the Lorax it is not so much that the Once-ler has cut down a tree that upsets the Lorax, this just draws his attention. What initially upsets him is his discovery of the greedy intentions that the Once-ler has for the Fluff, and the realization that this greed would lead to disaster for his home. The idea of sustainability can be connected to the story when one raises the question of whether the Once-ler could have done things to keep the area healthy and able to continue flourishing. For example, had the Once-ler thought it through more carefully he would have realized that if he always replaced the trees that he took to harvest, there would always be enough trees both for him, and for the creatures dependent upon the tress for their survival. Again, important ethical questions can be raised here about what the Once-er's responsibility to his surrounding ecosystem was, and whether there may have been a sustainable way to co-exist with all of the other parts of the ecosystem, without disrupting the balance, and hence its ability to function.

http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/The_Lorax

Sending some love and positive energy out your way.

Mr. Roger Boggs - Renshi

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