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The Relationship between Human and Nature
Walden two essay
Essays in walden
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Walden makes implication that in order for social change to exist, there must be pragmatic efforts to cause the intended change, whether by taking action as an individual or as group. Therefore, in the effort to create environment and living conditions that produce a society of happy, healthy people, actions must support and reinforce environment health and enable to adopt and maintain healthy relation with their environment of r the sake of happiness and well-being of others and the sustainability of the environment. As a conservation psychologist, I endeavor to promote positive social change through encouraging a healthy and sustainable relationship between human and nature.
Typically, comprehending and promoting the linkage between humans
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Of course, an individual loves some natural entity like a tree, an animal or a lake. This implies that the human connection to nature is an integral part of human existence. When a person has strong connection to the environment, he/she will be able to champion for it preservation and will not be bound by structured public policies that propagate indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources (Clayton, and Myers, 2015; Roth and Sweatt, 2011). Indeed, social structure often determine how people interpret the natural environment, and thus, an individual’s ability to understand and recognize the interdependence of nature and social ties will drive him her/her to push for positive social policies and persuade institutions to conserve the environment. He/he recognizes that good interactions with the natural world is critical part of a society. Moreover, making conservation psychology part of an individual’s career life influence on environmental attitudes (Callahan et al, 2012). Ordinarily, some individuals may oppose environmental initiatives not because they not concern of the natural environment but because they do care about a certain group with which they are related to and the particular group has come about to object the initiative. Therefore, making social change part of the career ensures that an individual is environmentally conscious and plays a role in the workforce by supporting initiatives that encourage sustainability of the environment (Champagne and Mashoodh, 2009; TED Conferences, 2012). The person will be able to conduct research on what motivates individuals to change behavior and attitudes towards the environment and spread the message about social change for the sake of environmental sustainability. Thus, helping people rethink their positions in natural world as well as live more sustainable lives. Furthermore, people with positive attitude towards
"How important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomenon to the preservation of moral & intellectual health. The discipline of the schools or of business—can never impart such serenity to the mind. " ~ Henry David Thoreau, May, 1851
In his world-famous thought-provoking novel, Walden, Henry David Thoreau presents his readers with a simple, inspirational guide for living. Written beside the beautiful Walden pond and completely surrounded by an unencumbered natural world, Thoreau writes about his own relationship with the beauty that surrounds him. His book provides an outlet for everyone to learn from his lessons learned in nature, whether they be city-dwellers or his own neighbors. One of Thoreau's most prominent natural lessons running throughout his novel is that of his deeply rooted sense of himself and his connection with the natural world. He relates nature and his experiences within it to his personal self rather than society as a whole. Many times in the novel, Thoreau urges his readers to break away from their societal expectations and to discover for themselves a path that is not necessarily the one most trodden. He explains that everyone should "be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought (341)." Walden inspires its readers to break out of the mold of tradition, away from outwardly imposed expectations, and out of the loyalty to society over loyalty to oneself in order to find truth and self in nature.
In Concord, Henry David Thoreau fell in love with the peaceful accord of the natural world. Thoreau found Concord's nature to be inspirational, soothing, refreshing, and mesmerizing. His perspective caused him to seek out a connection between himself and the natural world. It is a viewpoint that created within Thoreau a blissful oneness with nature. "I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least-- and it is commonly more than that-- sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all human engagements" (Thoreau, "Walking" 50-51). Thoreau effectively extricated himself from the trappings of society and found his roots by deeply connecting to nature at Walden Pond. “Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations” (Thoreau, Walden). He saw the relationship between the natural and the human as one of reciprocal harmony, because he perceived himself to be part of nature. He recognized that he was permanently linked to it. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoreau, Walden). He found personal harmony by reflecting on the...
John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold all have moderately different views and ideas about the environment in terms of its worth, purpose, use and protection. At one extensively non-anthropocentric extreme, Muir’s views and ideas placed emphasis on protecting environmental areas as a moral obligation. That is to say, Muir believed that wilderness environments should be used for divine transcendence, spiritual contemplation, as a place for repenting sins and obtaining devotional healing, rather than being used for exploitative materialistic greed and destructive consumption, such as industrialism, mining, and lumbering. At the other extreme, anthropocentric, Pinchot views nature simply as natural resources. In other words, nature is explicitly
Henry Thoreau uses specific rhetorical strategies in Walden to emanate his attitude towards life. With the use of many strategies Thoreau shows that life should be centered around Nature. People live their lives not ever taking a second glance of what Nature does and has done for humanity and Thoreau is trying to prove his point. Humanity owes Nature everything for without it humans would be nothing.
Many years ago, people saw the wilderness as a savage wasteland, but today, it is viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth.” (Cronon) He discusses this changed point of view by stating the difficulties that society will have rectifying environmental ailments if it stops viewing wilderness as “a dualistic picture in which the human is completely outside the nature.” (Cronon) This is understandable because humans rely on others to create opinions, and they do not know how to form their own thoughts and solutions to issues such as environmental ones. Therefore, it is with great importance that humans begin to learn how to formulate their own thoughts and share those personal thoughts with others, such as sharing solutions about environmental
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
Evironmentalism: The Next Step Broad Social Change Through Personal Commitment Introduction In the last thirty years, America has witnessed an environmental revolution. New laws like the 1963 Clean Air Act and the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act forged new ground in political environmentalism. Social phenomena like Earth Day, organized by Dennis Hayes in 1970, and the beginning of large-scale recycling, marked by Oregon's 1972 Bottle Bill, have help change the way Americans think about the environment. As we approach the third millennium, however, we must reconsider our place on the planet and reflect on our efforts and progress towards a sustainable society. As global warming becomes a scientific reality, natural disasters make monthly appearances in the headlines, and communities continue to find their ground-water contaminated by industrial and nuclear waste, we must ask ourselves: are we doing enough? The environmental movement in the past has largely been a social and political phenomenon. While many of us recycle (yet still only 35 percent of us) and take dead batteries to our town's Hazardous Waste Day, most Americans have not made the environment a personal issue. Very few of us have taken the kind of personal life-changing steps that are necessary to create an environmentally sustainable society. It is simply naive to believe that America's present rates of consumption, waste production, and environmental contamination are sustainable. The kind of social change required can only happen when we as individuals embrace the effort in our everyday lives. Only then will corporate America and the government realize that they too must change to maintain their customer base and public support. This kind of personal commitment to change would also create a new social ethic based on the environment under which people and companies who do not care for the earth would be held socially and financially responsible. In six parts, this article will re-examine our place in the environmental movement and investigate exactly what changes we can make in our personal lives to bring about positive change. These areas are transportation, energy, recycling and waste management, toxins and pollution, food, and water. Some of the changes discussed will require sacrifice. But, more important, these changes will often simplify our lives, bring our families and communities closer ...
When thinking about the transcendental period and/or about individuals reaching out and submerging themselves in nature, Henry David Thoreau and his book, Walden, are the first things that come to mind. Unknown to many, there are plenty of people who have braved the environment and called it their home during the past twenty years, for example: Chris McCandless and Richard Proenneke. Before diving into who the “modern Thoreaus” are, one must venture back and explore the footprint created by Henry Thoreau.
Such ploys seek to undermine any legitimate eco-consciousness in the audience, replacing it with rhetoric that is ultimately ambivalent toward the health of ecosystems, but definitively pro-business. These tactics assume a rigidly anthropocentric point of view, shutting out any consideration for the well-being of non-human existence; they seem to suggest that nature lies subordinate to our base desires. In addition to upholding the subordination of nature to business and leisure activities, this view establishes nature as something privately owned and partitioned (243), rather than something intrinsic to the world. Our relationship with nature becomes one of narcissism.
Schultz, P., 2002. New Environmental Theories: Empathizing With Nature: The Effects ofPerspective Taking on Concern for Environmental Issues. Journal of social issues, 56(3), pp.391--406.
To understand the nature-society relationship means that humans must also understand the benefits as well as problems that arise within the formation of this relationship. Nature as an essence and natural limits are just two of the ways in which this relationship can be broken down in order to further get an understanding of the ways nature and society both shape one another. These concepts provide useful approaches in defining what nature is and how individuals perceive and treat
As you all know we are all different in some way or another. We all have different lifestyles, customs, skills, experiences, backgrounds, and personalities which makes every individual different, but have you ever wondered how the world would be if everyone thought of the same ideas, copied the actions of others, wear the same type of clothes, or even walked and talked the same way? Would this be a satisfying and happy lifestyle, will this bring about social progress? Or should we add uniqueness and originality in order to help everyone to progress in life? In the book “On Liberty”, Mill believes that we need individuality in order to be able to have social progress, if we don’t we will be in a standstill and remain during the time of the Stone Age. My report will focus on the reasons Mill believes individuality is essential for social progress.
In relation to social transformation I have gathered materials that focusses on programs provided for ‘refugees’ living in New Zealand. The purpose of my findings are based on the societies support for ‘refugees’ in terms of human security and directions of life before settling in their new destination. There are stories about ‘refugees’ that need to be shared and stories that need to be forgotten, because it can produce controversy within the society or the universe. But where can these ‘refugees’ go if the place they call home is unsafe or too risky for the lives of their families and for themselves. It’s hard enough to migrate into a new country, but it is devastating for refugees who have experienced the loss of homes and loved ones.
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.