Our Nature Essay

[Heberto Calderon]

Natureis a book-length essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published by James Munroe and Company in 1836.[1] In the essay Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature.[2] Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature.[3] Emerson's visit to the Musum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris inspired a set of lectures he later delivered in Boston which were then published.

Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: Commodity, Beauty, Language, and Discipline. These distinctions define the ways by which humans use nature for their basic needs, their desire for delight, their communication with one another, and their understanding of the world.[4] Emerson followed the success of Nature with a speech, "The American Scholar", which together with his previous lectures laid the foundation for transcendentalism and his literary career.

In Nature, Emerson lays out and attempts to solve an abstract problem: that humans do not fully accept nature's beauty. He writes that people are distracted by the demands of the world, whereas nature gives but humans fail to reciprocate. The essay consists of eight sections: Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit and Prospects. Each section adopts a different perspective on the relationship between humans and nature.

In the essay Emerson explains that to experience the wholeness with nature for which we are naturally suited, we must be separate from the flaws and distractions imposed on us by society. Emerson believed that solitude is the single mechanism through which we can be fully engaged in the world of nature, writing "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars."[5]

When a person experiences true solitude, in nature, it "take[s] him away". Society, he says, destroys wholeness, whereas "Nature, in its ministry to man, is not only the material, but is also the process and the result. All the parts incessantly work into each other's hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal; and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity nourish man."[6]

Emerson defines a spiritual relationship. In nature a person finds its spirit and accepts it as the Universal Being. He writes: "Nature is not fixed but fluid. Spirit alters, moulds, it. ... Know then that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect."[7]

Emerson uses spirituality as a major theme in the essay. Emerson believed in re-imagining the divine as something large and visible, which he referred to as nature; such an idea is known as transcendentalism, in which one perceives a new God and a new body, and becomes one with his or her surroundings. Emerson confidently exemplifies transcendentalism, stating, "From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea. I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind",[8] postulating that humans and wind are one. Emerson referred to nature as the "Universal Being"; he believed that there was a spiritual sense of the natural world around him. Depicting this sense of "Universal Being", Emerson states, "The aspect of nature is devout. Like the figure of Jesus, she stands with bended head, and hands folded upon the breast. The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship".[9]

According to Emerson, there were three spiritual problems addressed about nature for humans to solve: "What is matter? Whence is it? And Whereto?"[10] What is matter? Matter is a phenomenon, not a substance; rather, nature is something that is experienced by humans, and grows with humans' emotions. Whence is it and Whereto? Such questions can be answered with a single answer, nature's spirit is expressed through humans, "Therefore, that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us", states Emerson.[11] Emerson clearly depicts that everything must be spiritual and moral, in which there should be goodness between nature and humans.[12]

Nature was controversial to some. One review published in January 1837 criticized the philosophies in Nature and disparagingly referred to the beliefs as "Transcendentalist", coining the term by which the group would become known.[13]

Henry David Thoreau had read Nature as a senior at Harvard College and took it to heart. It eventually became an essential influence for Thoreau's later writings, including his seminal Walden. In fact, Thoreau wrote Walden after living in a cabin on land that Emerson owned. Their longstanding acquaintance offered Thoreau great encouragement in pursuing his desire to be a published author.[14]

Emerson's views in Nature were also an influence on Charles Stearns Wheeler building a shanty at Flint's Pond in 1836. Considered the first Transcendentalist outdoor living experiment, Wheeler used his shanty during his summer vacations from Harvard from 1836 to 1842. Thoreau stayed at Wheeler's shanty for six weeks during the summer of 1837, and got the idea that he wanted to build his own cabin (later realized at Walden in 1845).[15] The exact location of the Wheeler shanty site was discovered by Jeff Craig in 2018, after a five year search effort.[16]

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Policy-makers receive formal and informal advice from all quarters: scientific, legal, political and public. Each piece of advice is considered mandatory by the giver, and it often conflicts with other advisers' points of view. Uncertainty is a feature of all advice, but it is usually only acknowledged by the scientific adviser.

I have worked as a scientist, policy-maker and adviser, mostly managing marine resources. As an ecologist specializing in fisheries population dynamics, I naively assumed that scientists develop advice that is passed on to policy-makers who then make decisions in the light of it.

When in 1995 I moved into policy-making, managing fisheries in the northeastern United States, I learned that advice comes from all directions. Scientists would present data with many caveats; others would give advice based mainly on opinion. Fishermen coming to the microphone in a public meeting might categorically state that the science was wrong, the rules wouldn't work and everyone would go out of business. Scientists tended to emphasize their uncertainty, and would be unwilling to speculate.

As scientists, we learn to analyse uncertainty and we explore decision-making in the light of that uncertainty. This is important, but we must also recognize that the precautionary approach will be adopted only slowly in policy-making. Uncertainty undermines political will in environmental decision-making. Officials are more likely to support a vociferous interest group that is apparently certain of the dire economic consequences of new restrictions, than scientists who advocate caution and prioritize the environment.

There is little uncertainty that overfishing was, and in many cases still is, occurring and that exploitation needed to be reduced by half or more. Emphasizing what we don't know often drowns out what we do know. In the event, strong action in New England reduced exploitation rates on some stocks, such as haddock, down to reasonable levels. As scientists predicted, the stocks began to recover. On other stocks such as cod, exploitation has remained relatively high, and their numbers have not recovered. There is little mystery, and only very slow progress is being made. Unfortunately, the fish may not wait for us to learn our lesson.

Statements of policy are still a far cry from implementing policy. It is easier to agree to the general principle of ending overfishing and rebuilding resources than it is to put the principle into effect. Few argue that overfishing and resource depletion are good things; many argue about whether their fishing activity, their business or their recreation really contributes to overfishing.

Political decision-making inevitably leans towards minimizing the impacts of policies on those constituents who are most affected. The public cares about the general outcome, such as saving whales, but individuls are unlikely to change their political view or support for an official because of local issues such as catch quotas or protected areas; fishermen will because the issue is immediate and vital to them.

Almost exactly a year ago, I threw a tweet out into the void about my desire to find more joyful texts to put in front of my students. The heavy stuff is so very rich, but finding things that express joy, and that allow us to do some good analysis, and have those rich conversations feels a lot harder to find.

If you read my posts here, you probably already know that query brought the work of Brian Doyle to my attention. I spent last spring reading his collection One Long River of Song daily, one essay a day until it was done.

I brought a few of those pieces into my Lit class last year, and the students who were with me last year mentioned him with fondness, so I pulled my copy off the shelf, and flipped through the flagged pieces to find one to work with this year.

Nature is an important and integral part of mankind. It is one of the greatest blessings for human life; however, nowadays humans fail to recognize it as one. Nature has been an inspiration for numerous poets, writers, artists and more of yesteryears. This remarkable creation inspired them to write poems and stories in the glory of it. They truly valued nature which reflects in their works even today. Essentially, nature is everything we are surrounded by like the water we drink, the air we breathe, the sun we soak in, the birds we hear chirping, the moon we gaze at and more. Above all, it is rich and vibrant and consists of both living and non-living things. Therefore, people of the modern age should also learn something from people of yesteryear and start valuing nature before it gets too late.

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