From Break Through: Why We Cant Leave Saving the Planet to Environmentalists by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
“In the Greek legend, Daedalus constructs two magnificent pairs of wings out of feathers and wax for himself and his son, Icarus. As father and son fly through the air together, a plowman and a shepherd below mistake them for gods. Daedalus warns his son not to fly too close to the sun, but Icarus is so in love with his new powers that he flies higher and higher until the sun melts the wax and Icarus plunges to his death in the sea below.
The myth of Icarus has long been told to discourage audacity, shame pride, and promote timidity – especially among the young. Fall narratives are parables of limits. Whether they are Greek, Christian, or Rousseauian, these cautionary tales aim to punish transgression, inhibit innovation, and preclude possibility. Those who fear change always declare challenges to their authority to be hubris. They exaggerate the falling and mask the overcoming.
But there are far more people who have abandoned their dreams fearing disappointment than who have taken flight and fallen to the sea.”
