We Should Reconsider the Divide Between Nature and Culture If we consider our notions of nature throughout history, it is immediately apparent that they have altered over time. The word nature stems from the Latin term, natura, which in turn was derived from the Greek word physis. For the Romans natura was associated with ‘everything born’, while the Greek associated physis with ‘growth’. For the past few centuries, our notion of nature has been in line with the Roman interpretation: nature is born, while culture is everything made by man.
Yet, as we are living in a time of genetic modification and climate control this distinction between ‘made’ and ‘born’ becomes less meaningful. At the same time, man-made systems become so complex and autonomous that we start to perceive them as nature. Hence, our notions of nature and culture seem to be shifting from a distinction between born and made to a distinction between controlled and beyond control – aligning with the original Greek interpretation of physis.
THE old view of nature
OUR new view of nature
Everything born
Everything beyond our control