2 - Why Does Nature Matter?

Summary

Beginning with an exploration of how humanity is both part of and distinct from nature, the chapter describes different routes to a realization of nature’s moral value. These routes include a direct and intuitive appreciation for nature’s worth and revulsion over what humanity has done to it; the way a recognition of our dependence on nature signals both our connections to it and the way it cares for us; appreciation of nature’s complexity and beauty; a deep moral gratitude for how nature—from evolution to our own bodies’ functioning—is essential to virtually every aspect of life; a conventionally religious belief that nature is a gift from God; and a recognition that in the way it functions without an ego nature can serve as a spiritual teacher.