農(nóng)業(yè)與現(xiàn)代文明3

1、HORTICULTURE HELPS US TO LIVE AS HUMAN BEINGS: PROVIDING BALANCE AND HARMONY IN OUR BEHAVIOR AND THOUGHT AND LIFE WORTH LIVING Your site hereAbstractHuman beings are creative and social beings. A human being has two ways of being creative; by fostering life and by acquiring objects. The former origi

2、ned in the maintenance of race and the latter in the maintenance of body. Your site here A human being also cannot live without any relationship with others， which provides him life worth living. Our life in modern society is deficient in fostering life and“ life worth living,” and emphasizes the ac

3、quiring of objects.Your site hereOnly a few limited activities such as horticulture， raising animals and nurturing children provide us with the behavior and thought of fostering life， which presents the opportunity for us to live 4$ human beings. Your site hereLife worth living is also provided by h

4、orticulture; sharing the effort and products of horticulture such as vegetables， fruit， cut-and/or pot flowers, ornamentals, etc.; joining with others to create and/or maintain pleasant surroundings such as parks， healthy, communities, school gardens， comfortable rooms， etc.; educating children or a

5、mateurs through gardening. Your site hereThus， horticulture helps us to live as human beings， providing balance and harmony in our behavior and thought of fostering life and acquiring objects， and life worth living through communicating with others. Your site hereKey index words Gardening, Horticult

6、ure， Human being, Creative being, Treasure ， Fostering, Acquiring， Social being， Life worth living，Education Your site here1. Introduction In the United States， approximately 70% of the households are engaged in gardening (Relf et al., 1992) and 80% of the households believed gardening or horticultu

7、re is an incomparable pleasure (Ashizawa， 1992). Your site hereIn Japan，Leisure Hakusho(1980, 1987, 1994)，reported more than 30% of the Japanese population has enjoyed gardening or horticulture as a leisure activity or hobby for more than 15 years (1978-1993).Your site hereWhy does horticulture attr

8、act so many who have taken it as a hobby? In other words，why does horticulture as a hobby or leisure activity fascinate us? Your site hereIn Great Britain，gardening is common in daily life (Kato,1969) and in the United States it is used as a treatment for mentally retarded or physically handicapped

9、individuals (Reif, 1981) ,which is called horticultural therapy.Your site hereIn recent years, the Japanese have paid much attention to horticultural therapy and there have been and will be several seminars/conferences on horticultural therapy in Japan (Matsuo,1994b). Why should such a treatment be

10、effective for disabled people? Your site hereAs the number of elderly people increase in Japan， providing for their welfare is becoming an increasing large problem. For this purpose， horticulture is expected to play an increasing role providing for this population. Your site here Why is horticulture

11、 expected to be one of the methods of providing welfare of older population? We also note that although the price of land is extremely expensive in Japan， the Japanese long to live in a house with a garden. Is this desire natural or unreasonable? Why? Your site hereThe answer for these above-mention

12、ed questions is “because horticulture makes us feel that we are human beings. Your site here2. A human is creative and humans are social beings Since the Greek age，many definitions have been advanced about a human being or human beings (Malsuo,1982)， but most of them have been too philosophical to u

13、nderstand， and we cannot have imagined the real status of a human being or human beings. Your site hereStudies on brain physiology support the idea that a human being is a creative being (Homo creata)(Ichikawa,1972). That is， Homo sapiens has a unique nervous system called a creative system. which n

14、o other animals have (Tokizane, 1974). Your site hereWhen we Homo sapiens fully utilize this creative system，we may live as human beings.Another important aspect of human beings is that we cannot live without other human beings.Your site hereThis situation is referred to as “social.” This is also ex

15、pressed with Chine letters“人間”， which mean that a human being lives among human beings （Watsuji, 1974). Thus，we can refer to human beings as creative and social beings. Your site here 3. 1. Acquiring objects and fostering life Animals are instinctive (Tokizane， 1974)， but a human being is also creat

16、ive (Ichikawa， 1972). When we are creative, we feel pleasure, but not hardship， even if the works or situation are trying, hard , painful，tedious or boring. Then how can we be creative? 3. A human being is a creative beingYour site hereConsidering our daily behavior or activities， we know that a hum

17、an being has two ways of being creative， by fostering life and by acquiring objects (Matsuo, 1977) .These are based on different philosophies: the philosophy of fostering and that of acquiring. Your site here The philosophy of fostering originated in continuance of the race and Homo sapiens as an an

18、imal, instinctive being，has evolved into a human being，adding the philosophy of fostering life, and of acquiring objects. Your site here These two philosophies and the activities associated with them make it possible for us to live as human beings. Concrete examples of fostering life are growing pla

19、nts, raising animals, nurturing and educating children or training successors (Table 1).Your site hereAs examples of acquiring objects, we could mention obtaining materials and information fishing, hunting, shopping, reading, writing, painting, appreciating arts, making things, manufacturing, ect. (

20、Table1). Your site hereThere are important differences between these two ways of being creative: 1) by fostering life, although we only help life to develop according to its genetic information, we become deeply involved and often feel or find ourselves a part of it. Your site hereFostering life req

21、uires that we continue our involvement during the entire period of growth, often for a long time. This attitude toward objects is quite nurturing and supportive, and it demands perseverance (Table 1). Your site here2) In acquiring objects ,the procedure is accomplished in response to our own desire.

22、 This attitude toward objects is very discriminatory, volitional, selective, or manipulative. Your site hereThe fact that Homo sapiens can be creative in both ways enables him to live as a human being by satisfying the urge to foster and the urge to acquire. Therefore the following could be conclude

23、d: 1) If we repress one of both of these urges, we fail to live as a human beingYour site here2) if we are kept apart from either of them, we are prevented from living as a human being. In either case, we do not live as a human being, but instinctively as an animal， because these are required to mai

24、ntain our human race and society. Your site here 3.2. Life in modern society lacks fostering life and focused on acquiring objects Your site hereIn our modern, so-called urbanized society, super-industrialized society or informational society, if we analyzed our daily life most of us would not be su

25、rprised to find our thoughts and behaviors associated with acquiring objects not with fostering (MaIsuo, 1977). Your site hereThat is we wish to do everything easily effectively and/or efficiently, but are not willing to do hard, dirty and dangerous works. Your site hereFor example, students want to

26、 pass their exams with less effort than attending lectures will rent their colleagues notebook; in supermarkets, packaged ingredients and partially cooked foods are in great demand, because housewives or young ladies hope to reduce the time required for cooking; Your site herechildren purchase beetl

27、es grasshoppers and other insects at the department store to avoid painful scratches when catching them in the fields; people want to climb mountains by car, not on foot (Matsuo，1982).Your site hereOn the other hand, the urge to foster is lacking in our life. For example, in mass media, we can find

28、many news items on abandoned children, infanticide ,a forced child suicide, cruelty to children, refusal to raise children, etc.; Your site herehigh school students do not hope to enter the University Departments which deal with raising animals or plants, because they feel that work is hard (Kitsui)

29、 dirty (Kitanai) and dangerous (Kiken), so- called 3K job in Japan, and low pay, low prestige and low potential for promotion, so called 3L in English. Your site hereTypes of activitiesItemFosteringAcquiringPrimary objectiveMaintenance of race Maintenance of bodyHomo sapiens as an animal (instinctiv

30、e)Bringing up their children to maintenance of raceObtaining foods, collecting environmental information to maintain body Evolution from animal to human being Homo sapiens as human beingFostering lifeAcquiring or making objectsPhilosophical basisFosteringAcquiringConcrete activitiesGrowing plants; r

31、aising animals; educating children; training ones successors Obtaining materials and information; making goods; shopping; fishing; writing; reading; appreciating artsCharacteristics of activities Helping life to也develop; necessary to keep company with it during growth; giving ourselves to lifeobtain

32、ing or making objects according to ones own will Attitude toward the objectiveActivities in horticulture Nurturing; supportive; subjective Taking care of plants Discriminating; volitional; taking; choosing; greeting; designed; objective Collecting, harvesting and/or eating Vegetablesand/or fruit; pl

33、anning or designing the usage of garden Your site hereThere has been a change to acquisitive situations even in the field of agriculture or animal husbandry, where the urge to foster may have been the original philosophy; e.g. plant factory ， broiler factory (growing chickens for broiling), egg fact

34、ory (farms for chicken egg production) (Matsuo, 1982). Your site hereThus, our life in modern society lacks in the thought and behavior to foster, and the thought and behavior of acquiring overwhelms fostering. That is，the modem society does not allow us to live as human beings through both ways of

35、being creative. If we compare a human being to a cart， a cart that has lost the balance of its wheels does not move normally. Your site hereThis situation could be expressed as follows; nowadays most of us have lost the balance in fostering and acquiring，and when we consider it from the viewpoint of

36、 humanity， we may be in a condition of “pre-sickness” (Matsuo,1994a)，which is not recognized in appearance， but we can not be referred to as healthy. Your site here 3.3. Horticulture provides us with both fostering and acquiring.Your site hereThen， how can we live as human beings in modem society? O

37、ne of the ways and an easy one is practicing horticulture or gardening because it provides us with both acquiring and fostering， while most of other activities provide us with only acquiring.Your site here 3.3.1. Acquiring activity in horticulture Acquiring activities are classified into two groups;

38、 hunting and making (Matsuo, 1986a). Your site hereHunting behavior is the act to get or obtain any material or information which we need or want. Making behavior is the act to produce any other things，information or documents using the hunted materials or information. Your site herePleasure of hunt

39、ing in horticulture is experienced in the following ways (Matsuo, 1978， 1979，1982):Your site here 1)Harvesting，eating or admiring horticultural products: We enjoy harvesting or eating fruits or vegetables，and admiring flowers. These acts include picking fruits such as apples, pears, mandarins, straw

40、berries or grapes, and digging up sweet potatoes， peanuts or potatoes. These are typical and understandable examples of acquisitive acts in horticulture. Your site here 2)Recovery of nature in urban area which is thought essential for us to live healthy: Through gardening in allotments or Kleingaert

41、ens ，people enjoy experiencing nature through bright sun shine，fresh air，feeling of soil，insects. fresh green, change of season, etc. which are lacking in urban areas (Matsuo, 1981). Your site here 3) Gratifying our desire for materials and knowledge: Amateur horticulturists find pleasure when they

42、obtain plant species they long to have by exchange or when they receive a parcel containing a plant they ordered from a nursery. Unexpected income from horticultural products grown gives the gardener pleasure, although it is not the primary aim of growing. Your site hereOthers explain the pleasure o

43、f increasing their knowledge of plants and how to grow them, and of the communication with other people who are engaged in gardening or are specialists in horticulture. Your site hereThus，we can be greatly engaged in hunting through horticulture and enjoy it. The pleasure of making or devising is an

44、other aspect of acquiring (Matsuo, 1977, 1978, 1982). Your site here When we practice horticulture, we face many problems; no pot or no site for planting, strong wind, insects and disease, dryness or too much rain, etc. People experience pleasure when they solve these problems by themselves. Your si

45、te hereThese are expressed in “idea pot”, shelf under roof for plant growing, and protection from sunlight or strong winds. There are other pleasures: We dare take care of plants, imagining flowers in several months or a year. Your site hereIn order to avoid injury by successive cropping, we enrich

46、the soil years before planting, and find the proper plants to be grown by referring to the information on crop planting. Your site hereBy considering plant characteristics, such as shade tolerance, moisture or drought resistance, height herbaceous or woody, vine, shrub or tree, evergreen or deciduou

47、s, etc., we enjoy designing when and where to plant in the garden or where to put potted plants. Your site hereThese are pleasures when we draw our dreams on the canvas of a garden. These are typical examples of our philosophy behind acquisitive horticulture. Your site here3.3.2. Fostering activity

48、in horticulture When we think of fostering in our daily horticultural activities，we notice many interesting experiences (Matsuo, 1977, 1979, 1982). Your site here For example： 1) We have been pleased to observe our plants growing day by day. 2) We get up in the morning with expectation to know which

49、 flowers opened this morning. Your site hereSimilar situation is expressed in a Waka poem by A. Tachibana: “Tanoshimi wa asa okiidete kinou made nakarisl hana no sakerumiru toki ”(It is our pleasure to find flowers opened in the morning which were not open yesterday). Your site herewhich was cited b

50、y President Clinton in his greeting of welcome for the Japanese Emperor and Empress in June 1994. Your site here3) Having cared for our plants over a long period of time. we especially enjoy when they finally flower and set fruit or seeds. Thus, children become willing to eat vegetables which they d

51、id not like such as carrot, white radish, egg plant, etc. Your site here4) We become disappointed at seeing plants die or become damaged for some reason or wilting because we forgot to water. Your site here5) We are not pleased to give our plants to anyone who does not take care of them. 6) We do no

52、t want to sell our dear plants, even if someone prepares to pay any price for them. This is as in the case of our children. Your site here7) A Bonsai grower told me that she felt as if her children were in travel while her plants were exhibited in a Bonsai show. 8) When our flowers are stolen，we get

53、 angry and grumble to ourselves that we would be willing to share some if so requested. Your site hereThus, horticulture provides us not only with the concept and behavior of fostering life through taking care of plants，but also with the concept and behavior of acquiring objects through activities s

54、uch as harvesting and/or admiring horticultural products and accomplishments which are attained by our own efforts (Matsuo, 1982, 1992) Your site hereIn other word, horticulture fulfills these two ways of being creative by itself, although most other hobbies do not satisfy them，because they are gene

55、rally only acquisitive，and fostering life is available only through raising living things. Your site hereTherefore， horticulture differs from other hobbies in that it enable us to live as human beings without any obstacles of the others. This is also the reason why it has become hobby by which we ar

56、e fascinated. Your site hereSuch fascination in horticulture is expressed by a citizen who worked on the Shimin-noen (allotment or Kleingarten) (Matsuo， 1979): I stepped into the tield on barefoot I plowed and seeded vegetables They sprouted and grew day by day and here now I see fresh vegetables wh

57、ich are full of life What a pleasure to raise them by myself! Your site here 3.4. Educational meaning of horticulture in order to become and live as a human beingYour site hereIt is well known that Japanese monkeys which have been raised by human beings from the baby age can not live with other Japa

58、nese monkeys when they are put back into the monkey population (Takagi，1980). Your site hereOokami-shojo (girls raised by wolves， found in India in 1920) could not always completely adapt to human society (Gesell， 1955; Singh， 1977). Your site hereThese cases indicate that these babies were nurtured

59、 and grew up in the society of different animals and learned different animals ways of life (culture)， showing that they could not he accepted by their own original society. Your site hereTherefore， the concepts of not only .acquiring but also fostering should be introduced to children at an early a

60、ge to assure they grow into balanced adults. Your site hereAs described in 3.2， however， modern life is dominated by the urge to acquire and lacking in the urge to foster. Thus， we have lost the balance of acquiring and of fostering， resulting in that we do not live as human beings. Your site hereTh