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Article: The paradox of Biophilia. (Note from a World Watcher).
- Article from:
- World Watch
- Article date:
- November 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Worldwatch Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Edward O. Wilson wasn't the first to use the term "biophilia," but he brought it into popular discussion. His interest, as reflected in Biophilia (Harvard University Press, 1984) and with Stephen R. Kellert in The Biophilia Hypothesis (Island Press, 1993), appears not to be simply a pursuit of dispassionate science. There's also a moral pursuit involved. Wilson sees biophilia--our often obscured but nonetheless hard-wired love of nature--as an important clue to how biodiversity can be saved. If we can get back in touch with just how deep an emotional attachment to nature we really have, we might be more consciously motivated to refrain from destroying it.
But ...