The Symbolism of the Tragic

This chapter argues that modern environmental thought has consistently been preoccupied with the tragic. Drawing upon the work of Paul Ricoeur, the chapter explores the ways in which common themes in modern environmental thought symbolize the need to give up, undermine, or destroy one or more goods in order to possess one or more other goods. Specifically, scarcity (which has preoccupied modern environmental thought from its beginnings), tragedy (as explored in literature on the tragedy of the commons), and risk (a measure of the likelihood that certain costs will be incurred) each simultaneously illuminate and mask aspects of our relationship to the tragic.