In a book published in 1984, the Harvard University biologist E. O. Wilson advanced what he called the “biophilia hypothesis”: the notion that humans have an “innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes,” an “urge to affiliate with other forms of life.” This urge is powerful, Wilson argued, and our thinking (as well as our health and well-being) suffers when it is suppressed, as it must be when we spend most of our time surrounded by inorganic forms and materials. Fortunately, he adds, an alternative path has already been mapped out for us: nature itself provides a comprehensive
...more
