The Biophilia hypothesis

Book

The Biophilia hypothesis / edited by Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson.

Kellert, Stephen R. (Added Author). Wilson, Edward O. (Added Author).

Summary:

"Biophilia" is the term coined by Edward O. Wilson, author of The Diversity of Life and winner of two Pulitzer prizes, to describe what he believes is our innate affinity for the natural world. In his landmark book Biophilia, he examined how our tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes might be a biologically based need, integral to our development as individuals and as a species. The idea has caught the imagination of diverse thinkers. The Biophilia Hypothesis brings together the views of some of the most creative scientists of our time, each attempting to amplify and refine the concept of biophilia. The various perspectives - psychological, biological, cultural, symbolic, and aesthetic - frame the theoretical issues by presenting empirical evidence that supports or refutes the hypothesis. Numerous examples illustrate the idea that biophilia and its converse, biophobia, have a genetic component: people develop fear and even full-blown phobias of snakes and spiders with very little negative reinforcement, while more threatening modern artifacts - knives, guns, automobiles - rarely elicit such a response; people would rather look at water, green vegetation, or flowers than built structures of glass and concrete; and the development of language, myth, and thought appears to be greatly dependent on the use of natural symbols, particularly animals. The biophilia hypothesis, if substantiated, provides a powerful argument for the conservation of biological diversity. More important, it implies serious consequences for our well-being as society becomes further estranged from the natural world. Relentless environmental destruction could have a significant impact on our quality of life, not just materially but psychologically and even spiritually.

Record details

ISBN: 1559631481
ISBN: 9781559631488
ISBN: 9781559631471
ISBN: 1559631473
Physical Description: 484 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Island Press, ©1993.

Content descriptions

General Note:: "A Shearwater book"--Title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Biophilia and the conservation ethic / Edward O. Wilson -- The biological basis for human values of nature / Stephen R. Kellert -- Biophilia, biophobia, and natural landscapes / Roger S. Ulrich -- Humans, habitats, and aesthetics / Judith H. Heerwagen, Gordon H. Orians -- Dialogue with animals : its nature and culture / Aaron Katcher, Gregory Wilkins -- Searching for the lost arrow : physical and spiritual ecology in the hunter's world / Richard Nelson -- The loss of floral and faunal story : the extinction of experience / Gary Paul Nabhan, Sara St. Antoine -- New Guineans and their natural world / Jared Diamond -- On animal friends / Paul Shepard -- The sacred bee, the filthy pig, and the bat out of hell : animal symbolism as cognitive biophilia / Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence -- God, gaia, and biophilia / Dorion Sagan, Lynn Margulis -- Of life and artifacts / Madhav Gadgil -- Biophilia, selfish genes, shared values / Holmes Rolston III -- Love it or lose it : the coming biophilia revolution / David W. Orr -- Biophilia : unanswered questions / Michael E. Soule.
Additional Physical Form available Note:: Also issued online.