The Great Subject

Berry writes that all of life should be measured by the standard of health. He describes health as the balance between growth and decay. Following in the footsteps of Sir Albert Howard, the father of organic farming, Berry identifies health as the “one great subject.” It is a unifying aim that is quantitative and qualitative, requiring sufficiency and goodness, in a comprehensive scope. “It is uncompromisingly local and particular; it has to do with the sustenance of particular places, creatures, human bodies, and human minds.” This sense of context is necessary for understanding problems of agriculture or the university.

“The Great Subject” Wendell Berry Hudson Review vol. 59 no. 2 Summer 2006: 184-191.