Rene Dubos contends that each human being is unique, unprecedented, and unrepeatable. However, today each person faces the critical danger of losing this very humanness to his mechanized surroundings. Most people spend their days in a confusion of concrete and steel, trapped "in the midst of noise, dirt, ugliness and absurdity." So begins the essential message of the work of one of the great figures in microbiology and experimental pathology of this century. Is the human species becoming dehumanized by the condition of his environment? So Human an Animal is an attempt to address this broad concern, and explain why so little is being done to address this issue. The book sounds both an urgent warning, and offers important policy insights into how this trend towards dehumanization can be halted and finally reversed. Dubos asserts that we are as much the product of our total environment as of our genetic endowment. In fact, the environment we live in can greatly enhance, or severely limit, the development of human potential. Yet we are deplorably ignorant of the effects of our surroundings on human life. We create conditions which can only thwart human nature

 My notes

==[ So Human An Animal ]=======================================================|
:: Questions ::
?? Why did 60s counter culture die ??
?? Why did New Humanism fail ?? # Mostly elitism and intellectual snobbery
?? As society / humanity advances our power grows. How can we manage this power
to avoid destruction ??
?? As we head further into globalism, how can we have a universal civilization
with Diverse cultures. Is it even possible ??
?? In what ways can modern man fill the god shaped hole in his heart ??
# 3rd place
?? What is fulfilling human experience? How can our society have more ??
?? How can we maintain group membership (~Tribe of 50) in large cities ??
?? How did citystates like 13th century Siena maintain humanistic equilibrium ??
?? Can human fulfillment be studied like a science? A science of humanity ??

:: Assertions ::
 > To change society you change childhood. 0-3 year. They need a featureful and
   diverse environment full of living experiences.
 > We treat our children like prisoners. Latch-key children. The children need
   freedom and better education.

 > Were in a new dark age. An age of anxiety and noise.
 > Our buildings shape us. Architecture is our environment.
 
 > Science and traditional values must be made to co-exist. Technological
   progress pursued without wisdom or caution means demise.
 > Science and technology must serve human needs, not economic and military
   needs.
 > We need progress not just of technology, but progress of culture, ecosystems,
   and environments. Natural and urban.
 > "Growth" is not sustainable! Things that grow uncontrollably without end are
   cancerous. We must learn to live on the Plateua before we fall off the cliff.
 
 > The brave stands in the open, the coward hides in the shadows pulling strings
 > A successful 'rebellion' needs to transcened reaction and history. It needs a
   new, internationally appealing, ideal.
 > Man needs clean food, clean water, and clean air.

:: Things to Investigate Further ::
 > Extinction events on our horizon (Global Warming, AI, Bioenhancement)
 > 13th Century Franciscans
 > Corbusiers Cite Radieuse vs Frank Loyd Wrights Broad Acre
   ?? What are examples of cities for humans. Human, inspiring, architecture ??
 > Methods to nurture environments. "Natural Gardening". Humanitarian land use.