Fossil mentalities

How fossil fuels have shaped social imaginaries

Bibliographic Data

ID8946003
AuthorsMatthias Schmelzer (0000-0003-3987-1930, Europa-Universität Flensburg, corresponding author), Melissa Büttner (0009-0006-8817-1593, Friedrich Schiller University Jena)
Year2024
Volume150
Pages103981-103981
Publication date2024-02-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.103981
OpenAlexW4392267306
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited42

With the concept of “fossil mentalities” and “fossil imaginaries” we introduce an analytical toolkit for historically informed and socially differentiated research on the interactions between pre-fossil, fossil, and post-fossil energy regimes on the one hand and societal patterns of perception, feelings, and action on the other. The paper starts by combining arguments from the history of mentalities and sociological analyzes of relational social structures and habitus to develop a historically informed conception of mentalities and social imaginaries. We then provide a short review of existing literature on the mutual relations and influences of fossil resources and mentalities, focusing on carbon culture and fossil imaginaries. The main section draws together historical literature on the transformation to the widespread use of fossil resources in the 18th to 20th century to analyze the extent to which modern mentalities were based on fossil resources, but conversely also enable the use of fossil resources. Revisiting debates on the societal transformation from pre-fossil, cyclical societies to fossil, extractive societies based on linear flows and the associated shifts in mentalities thus complements previous sociological and historical research on energy transitions. Based on this analysis, we develop a set of key dimensions that are central to research on the relationship between energy transformations and mentalities – including the current transformations towards post-fossil futures

Biology · Fossil fuel · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Ecology · Geology · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · Paleontology

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