Climate Pessimism and Human Nature

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article effectively brings together voices from scholarly and popular sources from different time periods. Contextualizing the term "climate pessimism"  is an important contribution to the environmental humanities. Acknowledging the role of  inequalities and privilege at the core of "climate pessimism," the article emphasized the importance of alternative ways of thinking. Radical interdependence, the pluriverse, justice, ambiguity, and and pluralistic frameworks of non-Western worldviews come into focus. 

I appreciate the clarity and accessibility of the argument. One minor point, perhaps a personal preference, would be to find a more precise term for the repeated use of "thing"  (lines 22, 175, 181, 184)

Research from places like the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication addresses precisely the point raised on p. 4 lines 193 ff - the important role of empathy for contemporary and future humans  (and more-than-human species) when pessimism threatens climate activism.  An acknowledgement of the work that links climate science and communication studies could perhaps be considered. 

A small note on gender inclusive language: p. 8, line 418 - the climate pessimist is "he" - which could be intended. Perhaps consider clarification?

A small typo on p. 7, line 330 - the German title is Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung - (not "and").

I enjoyed the humor and approachable tone in this essay throughout, an in particular highlights like on p. 7, lines 334  -336. This will appeal to readers across disciplines.

Author Response

Many thanks for this generous and helpful review. I appreciate the praise for the article and also the suggestions for improvement. I will enact all of these; the point about engagement with work on climate communication is particularly useful.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for the opportunity to review this paper. This is an interesting and engaging discussion of how climate pessimism is represented and explored in the non-fiction works of Jonathan Franzen and Roy Scranton. The article is well written and follows a logical structure, engaging carefully with relevant theoretical texts and those of the two main authors.

My suggestions are as follows:

Title- I suggest you consider adding a little more detail to the title perhaps to indicate which aspect of climate pessimism is explored or which works are focussed on.

Page1, lines 9-10- consider rephrasing or reordering this sentence i.e. Franzen draws on ideas from evolutionary psychology in a rather simplistic way.

L 19- consider including the names of prominent climate pessimists or indicating if you are suggesting that climate pessimism is a general public or media discourse.

30- remove “The” from the start of the sentence

44- remove “so” at the start of the sentence and indicate the type of text that Falter is i.e. novel, non-fiction

64- remove “so” from the start of the sentence

100- change “look” to a stronger verb i.e. consider

136- “For him and Hine”- please replace the “him” with who you are referring to i.e. Kingsnorth

151- Consider replacing “But” with “However” or “Yet”

180- consider adding a summing up sentence to this paragraph “Therefore…”

202-204- consider replacing the semicolons in this sentence i.e. The key points seem to be that firstly we suffer from an empathy deficit and are unable to care that much for others, secondly that we focus on the immediate over the future; and finally that we are limited by “social constraints.”

224-225 I suggest either adding evidence to show that Jamieson has influenced Franzen’s thinking or rephrase the sentence. Without an author saying that their thinking was influenced, it is quite difficult to evidence. Perhaps Franzen’s writing shows evidence of Jamieson’s influence?

236 consider changing “but” to yet or however

239 remove “it is”

240 remove “that”

252 consider changing “cites” to “refers to”

254-255 reconsider the use of brackets and consider finetuning the sentence (finishing the sentence with “that involves” suggests a word or words may be missing).

281 reconsider starting a sentence with “And”

293-4 I suggest adding “As he states” to the start of this sentence

304 consider clarifying which Klein you are referring to given your article refers to 2 Kleins

306-7 add “be” between “already” and “working”

312- I suggest adding a reference for Sloterdijk in your reference list

344 add “are” between “as we” and “driven”

379 I suggest adding an intext reference to the page for this quote

419-422 “he” is used numerous times in these lines to refer to climate pessimists. Is this intentional?

432-435 I suggest replacing the semicolons with commas

458 Consider adding a topic sentence to this paragraph

493 Consider adding references for “One World World”

497-499 replace the semi-colons with commas and add a full stop at the end of the sentence

Author Response

Many thanks for this generous and helpful review. I appreciate the praise for the article and also the very close attention to detail in the feedback. I will enact the stylistic changes suggested. The point about the title is particularly useful and I agree that it does need more detail. I will think about it as I edit the whole piece, but I'm leaning towards 'Climate Change Pessimism and Human Nature' as offering a more precise articulation of the article's concerns.