A philosophy where technology is forsaken and nature embraced
There is a particular philosophy that I am trying to find the proper word to describe.
An exemple of this philosophy is from a short story I once read (From Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire") is where a man tries to build a fire in the winter, and in his confidence takes his boots off to warm them. Whereupon snow falls from above, extinguishing the fire, soaking his foot, and we are left to presume dooming him to death.
Another example (that I cannot source sadly) is the story of a particular man who abandoned society and built himself a log cabin in the middle of the woods, and lived his entire life there.
The core concepts invovled are thus:
- A reverence for nature
- A desire to be self-sufficient
- A belief that this state is the purest form of mankind
- Not a fear of technology, but a desire to avoid it
Solution 1:
A radical form of what you seem to be talking about is called Primitivism or Anarcho-primitivism, a philosophical and political movement that is associated—perhaps simplistically—with the catchy (and giant ground sloth–friendly) slogan "Back to the Pleistocene." The Anarchist Library has posted a lengthy and interesting discussion of Primitivism on its website.
"Primitivism" is actually a very apt name for this philosophy; but unfortunately for it, artistic primitivism seems to have lodged a prior claim to the term.
Solution 2:
Agrarianism has this sense in it. (It is also called ruralism)
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values.
It stresses the superiority of a simpler rural life as opposed to the complexity of city life, with its banks and factories.
M. Thomas Inge defines agrarianism by the following basic tenets:
Farming is the sole occupation which offers total independence and self-sufficiency.
Urban life, capitalism, and technology destroy independence and dignity while fostering vice and weakness.
Also, Cynicism embraces natural and simple living but rejects all earthly desires.
For the Cynics, the purpose of life was to live in virtue, in agreement with nature.
As reasoning creatures, people could gain happiness by rigorous training and by living in a way which was natural for humans, rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, sex, and fame.
Instead, they were to lead a simple life free from all possessions.