Dr. Alan Lightman of MIT has a fascinating op-ed in the NY Times around our one-sided relationship with nature. We have a mind and we typically act with purpose (sometimes good, sometimes). Nature doesn’t have an agenda, nature is without purpose.
This asymmetry is what makes the relationship one-sided. This is where the complication is too. Our bond with nature is incredibly strong which makes us like someone in a bad relationship, who simply doesn’t care.
In the age of anthropocene, Dr. Lightman concludes:
Nature can survive far more than what we can do to it and is totally oblivious to whether homo sapiens lives or dies in the next hundred years. Our concern should be about protecting ourselves — because we have only ourselves to protect us.
Much to think about, that is for sure.
Continue to read the full article “Our Lonely Home in Nature“.