“Since the eighteenth century, the popular spirit of each succeeding age has tended more and more to the view that the ills and mysteries of life will eventually fall before the scientific advances of man, a belief that is still going strong even though this is the first generation to face total extinction because of these advances.” – Flannery O’Connor
yes!
have you read:
when will the planet be too hot for humans? new york magazine
elizabeth stokkebye,
I just looked it up. Scary stuff. Wendell Berry has much to say on this topic. If you’re on Twitter, you should follow him.
Do you know when she said that? Just wondering since it seems to be the trend.
D. Wallace Peach,
That quote was taken from O’Connor’s 1960 essay “Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction.”
Wow. I suppose she saw it coming before a lot of other people. I suppose the signs have changed but not the propensity toward self-destruction.
D. Wallace Peach,
A professor of mine at Wake Forest said he visited her on her farm. She graciously discussed her writing with him. He said that when he later thought about it, he’d come as close as anyone could to talking to a medieval scholar.
Nailed it, Flanner. Thanks for sharing, Mike.