“…our idea of nature is cultural… the idea of nature doesn’t much serve the needs of the creatures we share the planet with or even the needs of most humans, but has been largely constructed to serve a powerful few.”
Jane Rawson’s thorough exploration of scientific history and the cultural relationship with the concept of nature is paired with a deeply personal and heartfelt journey through the nuances of our relationship to the environment and our planet. Human/Nature: On life in a wild world is an honest and reflective interrogation of where our concepts of nature come from, why we feel the way we do about it, and how our beliefs could benefit from a more rounded view of what constitutes nature.
As with many pieces of writing on environmental themes, there is a thread of sadness throughout the book, Rawson even acknowledges it herself in the writing, saying that had this book been written ten years ago it would have been stauncher and funnier but now her “unshakeable sadness permeates everything.”
Yet while this book does not necessarily aim to directly conquer environmental grief, it does indeed provide some form of comfort that can help us better fuel our emotions away from pure nihilism. In the beginning, Rawson writes: “Everywhere there are eulogies for things that are – look around you – still here. We are surrounded by eulogies because we have all agreed that, though we avoid speaking about it, everything is lost.”
As the book progresses, Rawson takes us on a journey to see how nature is changing, shifting and adapting in surprising and unusual ways, and often in ways that we have not considered as positive for cultural reasons. In a particularly interesting section, Rawson explores how some animals have adapted to cities and urban living, and what cultural and economic influences lead us to believe that these changes are not positive.
Perhaps my favourite chapter is ‘Common catastrophes: On evolution and extinction’, in which Rawson explores how scientific history has shaped our understanding of nature including scientific naming and taxonomy, and how “sometimes names bundle up the obsessions of the scientists who created them and ship them to us down the centuries tucked away under cover of objectivity.”
My copy of this book contains hundreds of highlights and sticky tabs. It spoke to me in so many ways I didn’t expect. Not just about the environment and my understanding of it, but about myself, my mind, my place in this world. It interrogates how our beliefs about nature also challenge our beliefs about ourselves and our role in this world.
As someone who once studied environmental science, who would describe themself as an environmentalist and a conservationist, who regularly donates to environmental causes, who follows trends in sustainability and regularly interrogates my own selfish impact on the world, this book felt like it held my hand as it asked me to challenge my beliefs in new ways and redefine everything once more.
Rawson has created something deeply personal and yet wide-reaching. Human/Nature brings together nuanced thought and compassionate personal exploration in a timely reflection that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys science writing or who has found themselves slipping into environmental grief.
This is a book full of wisdom, fascination and wonder for the world we live in, even as it acknowledges the sadness and desperation in our situation.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Jane Rawson’s Human/Nature: On life in a wild world is out now through New South Publishing. Grab yourself a copy from your local bookstore HERE.
