''Biophilia'' is the term coined by Edward O. Wilson,
author of The Diversity of Life and winner of two
Pulitzer prizes, to describe what he believes is our
innate affinity for the natural world. In his landmark
book Biophilia, he examined how our tendency to focus on
life and lifelike processes might be a biologically
based need, integral to our development as individuals
and as a species. The idea has caught the imagination of
diverse thinkers. The Biophilia Hypothesis brings
together the views of some of the most creative
scientists of our time, each attempting to amplify and
refine the concept of biophilia. The various
perspectives - psychological, biological, cultural,
symbolic, and aesthetic - frame the theoretical issues
by presenting empirical evidence that supports or
refutes the hypothesis. Numerous examples illustrate the
idea that biophilia and its converse, biophobia, have a
genetic component: people develop fear and even
full-blown phobias of snakes and spiders with very
little negative reinforcement, while more threatening
modern artifacts - knives, guns, automobiles - rarely
elicit such a response; people would rather look at
water, green vegetation, or flowers than built
structures of glass and concrete; and the development of
language, myth, and thought appears to be greatly
dependent on the use of natural symbols, particularly
animals. The biophilia hypothesis, if substantiated,
provides a powerful argument for the conservation of
biological diversity. More important, it implies serious
consequences for our well-being as society becomes
further estranged from the natural world. Relentless
environmental destruction could have a significant
impact on our quality of life,not just materially but
psychologically and even spiritually. |
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