Leaving and Coming

We discussed in class how an object can be leaving a certain point but ultimately, it is also getting closer to that point the more distant it gets. Josh gave an example of an object leaving point A on a circle and, in moving further from point A, it was becoming closer to coming back to point A. As we have progressed in this class, I feel like we began with looking at how humans impact nature. We’ll call that point A. After a month or so into the course, I feel like we have digressed and moved further and further from our goal of finding out how we interact with nature and how we can be better stewards of the environment. We have moved from a direct connection with nature, such as our discussion related to Pollan’s apple and potato analogies, to a more convoluted and conceptual dig into Aristotle’s theories of motion. However, if the point that Aristotle is making is accurate, then in searching and moving further from our topic of interest, we should be gaining ground in coming back around to find the answers for which we originally began searching. However, this idea that we begin where we left off is somewhat frustrating to me, knowing that perhaps we will leave this class without having any more of an understanding of how we view nature and our relationship with it. I wonder if it is okay to talk in circles, without deriving meaning and simply allowing our understanding to wander this way and that until we ultimately come back to the same place? Has the journey changed our views, or are we simply back in the space we began, at point A?