Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.

The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord. The con Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.

The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord. The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers, and has steadily gained currency ever since. This usage was confirmed during the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.

Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" often refers to geology and wildlife. Nature may refer to the general realm of various types of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects – the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth, and the matter and energy of which all these things are composed. It is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or wilderness–wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For example, manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature, unless qualified as, for example, "human nature" or "the whole of nature". This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term "natural" might also be distinguished from the unnatural, the supernatural, or synthetic.

Nature writing is generally defined as nonfiction prose writing about the natural environment. Nature writing often draws heavily on scientific information and facts about the natural world; at the same time, it is frequently written in the first person and incorporates personal observations of and philosophical reflections upon nature. ...more

New Releases Tagged "Nature"

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss

The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World's Most Curious Creature

This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History

The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea

Naming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers

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A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness

The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love

A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon

Lists

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Amazon Rainforest

106 books — 98 voters

Nature Lovers—Romances With Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Backpacking, Mountain Climbing And More

224 books — 137 voters

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Pérez

Women in Science

362 books — 108 voters

In the Company of Crocodiles by Maggie Brown

A Lesbian Wilderness

90 books — 70 voters

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Adult Nonfiction Animal Books

600 books — 178 voters

A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Best Bear Books

184 books — 82 voters

Nature Books

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

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Related Genres

Nonfiction
Environment
Outdoors
Plants
Ornithology

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Quotes Tagged “Nature”

“ I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness. ”
― Aldo Leopold

1387 likes

“ We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature. ”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

1521 likes

More quotes...