CHAPTER 2: Yearning for Nature

Biophilia is an innate affinity for Mother Nature that's present within all of us. We feel most comfortable in landscapes that resemble East African savannah: mostly flat ground good for hunting and farming; mountains or hills in the distance that hinder incoming enemies; a river for obvious reasons; and a few trees to provide protection from dangerous animals. Remnants of this “ideal” human habitat are found today in the form of golf courses and urban parks across the world. Even children tend to draw these features when they draw a landscape of their choosing. We are captivated by complex patterns found in flickering campfires, turbulent waterfalls, breaking ocean waves and the intricate, swirling flight patterns of large flocks of birds. The affinity for these elements of the natural world has a dark side, too: we over-fear artificial inventions unless they, too, invoke nature in their design. We over-fear new, artificial creations—particularly chemical inventions—before we even know about them and quickly adopt behaviours to avoid them. Marketers take advantage of these fears by peppering product packaging with natural design elements and claims to be “free from” artificial substances to increase consumer demand.