Nature | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Nature

Nature is defined in the dictionary as the totality of physical reality, or the total system of spatiotemporal phenomena and events, or as real and objective existence. It has also been defined as the world of mind and matter external to the observer, reality as observed. In the vernacular, nature is often described as the out-of-doors, as natural scenery or a landscape. Many people still take their image of nature from the nineteenth century British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who described "nature red in tooth and claw." Or they see it as a benign, domesticated place to camp and play.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a nineteenth century American thinker, wrote one of the most influential commentaries on nature. He suggested that "strictly speaking_all that is separate from us [humans] must be ranked under this name, Nature." Nature is multi-faceted, incorporating as it does, all the material world of living organisms and natural objects and forces. As Emerson noted, "there is a property in the horizon [of nature] which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts." "Nature," Emerson claimed, "is not only the material, but is also the process and the result." Emerson also cautions that, to appreciate nature, "the unity of Nature [and] the unity in variety" must both be apprehended. In appreciating Nature today, though, we should also remember Emerson's caution that "Nature is so pervaded with human life that there is something of humanity in all and in every particular."

Biology is primarily concerned with what might be called "living nature," the realm of living organisms. That interest is, of course, intertwined with recognition that organisms depend on, and draw their sustenance from non-living nature, the abiotic environment of the sun and the minerals and waters of the earth. The Latin root of the word nature is biological, meaning "to be born," and nature is still the mother of all organisms, including the human, the source from which all sustenance flows.

The purpose of biology is to understand how nature works, how the complex living systems of planet earth survive, evolve, and interact. Since biology is the science of living things, humans are active units in all its processes. The human body is natural, that is it is composed of the same elements and structural units found in other organisms, and it performs the same basic functions. The human starts life as a simple, undeveloped cellular form, is born, grows as do other living entities, and develops through similar processes.

There is much talk these days about "the social or cultural creation of nature" and even about "the end of nature." If nature is defined as the material world, that world of interest to scientists, including biologists, or is defined as equivalent with the universe, then nature as such is not humanly created and cannot end. This is true even if nature is confined to the material world of the planet earth. Nature is perceived in different ways by different cultures, or even by different individuals, but there is also a nature that in fact exists as a reality independent of what humans think about it. As long as the planet exists, nature exists, whatever happens to the human species.

How nature is defined, including what is natural, becomes critical as humans take over more and more of the surface, and the productivity, of the earth and its ecological systems. One example is provided by on-going debates over Yellowstone Park. The debate centers on the degree to which the park should be left "natural." If the park is to be an accurate representation of nature--so that part of the human environment can be visited as a way to keep in touch with raw nature--then how much human impact and interference can be allowed? Is fire a natural component of the system, to be left alone, or should fires be controlled? Is the park too small an island of nature to function as a complete 'natural' ecosystem? For example, can a grizzly bear population be maintained in such a small island of nature? Should wolves have been reintroduced? Should the local elk population be managed or allowed to fluctuate in response to changes in vegetation and predators?

Humans cannot end nature, but human impacts on the natural world are increasing at a steep rate. Nature defined on an earthly scale has nowhere escaped human modification. Nature defined as synonymous with the universe has hardly been dented. But biologists are concerned mostly with the nature of living things on earth, and on this planet, scientists are documenting rather dramatic impacts. Research by biologists is documenting human reduction of the diversity of life on earth, and is recording an acceleration in the natural rate of species extinction. Humans are altering and destroying the habitats of innumerable organisms, every day and on a large scale.

The natural world is dynamic and always changing. Nature evolves. Nature cannot be held in one place, at some static point that humans may consider ideal. But humans still need to consider carefully the changes they are making, intentionally and inadvertently, on a small scale and every day, and on a global scale that reaches far into the future. The fate of nature and the fate of the human species are indelibly intertwined.