Biophilia: Baby, You Were Born This Way
Our early ancestors survived by attuning themselves to nature because, well, if you didn’t, you died – often before you could reproduce. The tiger would eat you, the mushroom would poison you, or you would be caught in a snowdrift and freeze. The more we learned how to read nature’s signs and understand its gifts to us, the more we thrived.
Biophilia is the word for our innate love of nature. This connection is as deep and important as our need for human connection. Our collective loss of this relationship is part of our current morass of alienation. We have built a society that systematically severs our connection to the living world, to each other, and to ourselves. We have a deep longing to get this connection back, even if we can’t name it.
This is not a call for you to go live in a cottage in the woods. There are way too many humans for all of us to live in nature areas. Plus, we have been living together in stable groups in fixed locations for over 10,000 years. We like civilization. What we need to do is stop designing our cities – and our lives – as if nature was optional.
