Berry believes that America is one of the most wasteful societies in the world because of our belief in the mantra of limitlessness. He argues that we will always strive to be bigger and better, regardless of the costs. Our limitlessness harms the environment and causes our economy to harm people. According to Berry obsession with "freedom" has lead to a free market economy where one's success requires another's failure. Berry also cites a variety of other sources to support his claim.
Berry discusses the characters of Dr. Faustus and Satan in Paradise Lost to warn against limitlessness. Faustus sold his soul to the devil in order to gain limitless knowledge but ultimately dies alone. Mephistopheles in the Faustus story also declares that hell is wherever the damned dwell, in other words hell is limitless.
Berry finally suggests that it is our obsession with science and technology that lead to our issues with limits and advocates a shift to the arts. He points out that all art forms whether painting, music, or writing, are bound by some type of limit or endpoint. Another important difference between art and science is that every scientific experiment, regardless of success, will be followed by more experiments. There is always a second chance. But with art if certain opportunities are missed, nothing will come along later to fill that gap. Berry specifically mentions King Lear and The Divine Comedies as important works of art that would never have been written if not by their own authors.
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I thought Berry's comment about the difference between science and art was one of his most interesting arguments. Like you said, w/ science you just keep getting deeper and deeper into limitlessness. Each experiment brings you into a new realm of thinking. He then brings in art saying art, no matter how small or large, is always bound by a limit. He thinks people should turn to art rather than science. I thought art was a pretty random but good example to bring up.
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