Heredity And Early Experiences Are The Reasons People Love Nature
Our love of nature is highly individual and how we plan our cities and urban green spaces should take this into account, say scientists
Gapstow Bridge in autumn in Central Park, NYC. This ornamental stone pedestrian bridge was built in 1896 and spans The Pond in the southeast corner of the Park. (Public Domain CC0)
Do you love nature? I sure do! But I was surprised to learn this love isn’t the necessarily true for everyone. Why? Where does our love for nature, our biophilia, come from? Is biophilia inherent or is it the result of childhood experiences — or if you prefer, is it the result of nature or nurture? Or maybe ... both?
The German-American psychoanalyst, Erich Fromm, coined the word “biophila” to explain “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive”. The biophila hypothesis, proposed by biologist EO Wilson, suggests that humans have an innate desire to seek connections with nature and with other forms of life, and further, this desire may have a genetic basis (at least in part).
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