I’ve often found it funny that as an Environmental Studies major and an avid reader of environmental philosophy and thought, I had not yet read Walden. Perhaps it is because its length scared me away, or I wanted to find lesser known works to study. I’ve always known that Walden was essentially the starting point of “society is doing it wrong, nature is doing it right” literature, but, halfway into the assigned reading, I’ve discovered that the above quote just scratches the surface.

“Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn was the first book I read that truly enlightened me to the cruel contradictions of human history and society. I still cite it as the reason for choosing my major and becoming involved in environmental activism. After reading this bit of “Walden”, however, I’m looking back on Ishmael as much more of a softer introduction into “everything you’ve been taught is wrong” thinking. This gives me the suspicion that this specific genre of environmental writing has become more accessible over time. Could that accessibility have caused increased concern about the environment? Could increased concern about the environment have caused more people to write about their belief that “we’re doing it wrong” in a more accessible fashion as to reach those with lower levels of literary comprehension?

I’m also noticing the bits of “Walden” that later environmental writers certainly found inspiration from. I can almost picture Wendell Berry being overwhelmed and inspired by Thoreau’s assertion that we should abandon society’s valuation system as I was by Quinn’s suggestion that we’re destroying the world and the only way to save it is to oppose what history has deemed “human progress.” I also have personally known people to experience a similar feeling of empowerment after encountering these types of literature. I often wonder if this feeling motivates others in the way it motivated me.

But has humanity learned from these writers who are so certain that the only way to avoid doom is to flip around almost everything society has come to value? Does “Walden”‘s fame suggest that one day we’ll turn this ship around? Or just that some of us will forever be condemned to looking at the society around us and shaking our heads?