N. Niemeier

“To appreciate that objectivity is a highly contested phenomenon does not mean that reality is nothing more than a social construction, a fleeting figment of our imaginations. What needs challenging is the idea that there is some underlying, inviolable reality called nature that does not change (the natural sciences are claimed to study this), while our awareness and cultural sensibilities do (the social sciences and humanities are claimed to study this). There is no “raw” access to the world, because the moment we try to enter the “objective world,” we find ourselves already there. What we face is always a joint history of the human sciences and the physical world together. Bruno Latour wisely suggests that when we abandon the notion of a stable, unchanging nature, “we are leaving intact the two elements that matter the most to us: the multiplicity of non-humans and the enigma of their interaction [with us].”29 We open a space in which genuine interaction and reciprocal learning between creatures can occur. We look for opportunities in which the reality of life together can inspire, correct, and inform our understanding.”
― Norman Wirzba, From Nature to Creation (The Church and Postmodern Culture): A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World

“Idols evoke worship in us because we think they can save us from life’s contingencies, mysteries, and finitude. Put another way, we make idols of all sorts of things—the stock market, a job, superstar athletes and performers, our families—because we think that by giving our allegiance to them we will make our lives secure and complete.”
― Norman Wirzba, From Nature to Creation (The Church and Postmodern Culture): A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World