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Allison Smith
Professor Johnson
Philosophical Perspectives on Nature
19 April 2016
Perceiving Nature
It is no secret that the relationship between humans and nature has been flawed for some

time now. There have been stories focused on how the capitalistic economy must change, how

consumerism must change, what scientific problems have been found and their solutions, and

what technology will help mend this relationship. Yet, the flaw in the relationship still exists.

Maybe, the problem is much simpler than imagined. Maybe, the problem lies within the minds of

mankind. The proper relationship humans should have with nature is one that consists of

passengers living in a home with other inspirited passengers.

Every being in this world is a “passenger” of Earth. Each individual has a life that will

come to an end; one’s life is not permanent. The world will go on without a person, as it had

before he or she was here. This is why everyone is a passenger. Every person is on a ride that

will end and “there is only one life per passenger” on it (557). While on this trip, as Brower

points out, one will find that this planet consists “of complex and fascinating detail in design and

structure” (557). This complexity and detail is how the planet operates itself. “The planet is self-

maintaining and the external source will provide exactly as much energy as is needed or can be

safely used,” describes Brower (557). This includes the finite resources that are necessary for

life: air, water, and land. Each passenger needs these resources for his or her life; however, if the

passenger fails to use these resources properly, he or she is “likely to cause considerable damage

before [he or she] can learn the proper operation procedures for [himself or herself]” (555). The

extent of the damage done is unknown and can vary. The damage could simply consist of a
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depletion of resources, or it could consist of a loss of others’ lives. Therefore, it is important to

understand how to properly “operate” this world. One should treat this planet as if he or she is a

passenger of an airplane. He or she should take no more than is needed, should do as little

damage as possible for later passengers, be respectful of others’ needs, know that the ride will

end, and be respectful to the operating machine, as causing damage to it could harm his or her

own ride or even end the ride early. Brower asserts, “if through no responsibility of the current

passengers, damage to the planet’s operating mechanism has been caused by ignorant or careless

action of the previous travelers, it best to request the Manufacturer’s assistance (best obtained

through prayer)” (557). In other words, if a person, or people, do cause considerable damage to

the world, the only solution left will be to pray for a miracle. This is because no one else will

know the solution(s) to fix the damage that has been done. Because of this, if one wants to enjoy

his or her short ride, he or she should act as a passenger in a world with other passengers.

Since each person is a passenger in this world, it is not correct to say a person can own a

place in it. This whole world is everyone’s home; it is the home of those that exist now, those

that existed in the past, and those that will exist in the future. Each person’s existence is only

temporary here; thus, his or her home will continue to exist after his or her stay has come to an

end. As Kingsolver says, “these places own me: They hold my history, my passions, and my

capacity for honest work” (944). One’s “ownership” of a particular spot in this world is not real.

A person’s ownership will run out when he or she dies, and another being will come in and live

in the same place, in the same home. Homes are shared in this world. Kingsolver adds,

“Wildness [nature] puts us in our place. It reminds us that our plans are small and somewhat

absurd. It reminds us why, in those cases in which our plans might influence many future

generations, we ought to choose carefully” (947). Humans should look after their home not only
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because they live there, but also because others will eventually live there too. This means that the

future inhabitants need the proper resources to survive; therefore, the current inhabitants should

not deplete resources for those to come. One should treat nature as if he or she is a passenger

because it is his or her home, and it will be the home of generations to follow.

Being a passenger of this home requires a level of balance between the world and people.

This balance is created by a deep connection between the non-human world and the human

world, a connection founded by the idea that the non-human world is inspirited. Abram tells that

the life of a shaman is to act “as an intermediary between the human community and the larger

ecological one, ensuring that there is an appropriate flow of nourishment . . . from the human

community back to the local earth” (819). This not only means that the shamans make sure that

the residents of the area do not abuse nature or take more than is necessary, but they also make

sure that the residents are giving back to nature what they take. This “giving back” to nature is

“not just materially but with prayers, propitiations, and praise” too (819). One way this is done,

is through offerings that are made to the “spirits.” Some of the residents in the place that Abrams

described, would give offerings of rice to the spirits in order to keep them satisfied and to keep

them from coming into their home (823-824). However, Abram observed that the “spirits” were

simply ants that would come and take the rice, not actual spirits (825). After some thought,

Abrams was then faced with a new discovery; that these spirits, were not the typical idea of

spirits people think of through historical Christianity. He discovered that “spirits” are “primarily

those modes of intelligence or awareness that do not possess a human form” (826). The ants

were the spirits that the offerings were intended for. After this discovery, Abram’s world was

transformed. He states:
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I learned of the intelligence that lurks in nonhuman nature, the ability that an alien form

of sentience has to echo one’s own, to instill a reverberating in oneself that temporarily

shatters habitual ways of seeing and feeling, leaving one open to a world all alive, awake,

and aware. (833)

He learned that other passengers live on Earth, and that they have intelligence that humans will

never know. Due to this, he began to see the world as a passenger living with other passengers.

This is the fundamental change that must occur for the proper relationship between humans and

nature. Humans must realize that there are beings other than humans that have knowledge,

thoughts, and spirits. This change must be made because humans will only then start to treat the

world as shamans do: seeking to obtain a balance between residents and the non-human world.

Once this change has been made, as was the case with Abram, the ability of one to listen and see

other inspirited, non-human beings will cause for him or her to treat the world with an entirely

different level of respect, a level in which one will follow the operating rules of Brower.

Why is this change of mindset necessary? The reason is, as Quammen states, “we’re

headed into another mass extinction” (877). However, this mass extinction is much different than

the ones of the past; this mass extinction is the result of human activity. Quammen accounts that

a variety of factors have led the population to this mass extinction; factors humans have caused

and are causing still. He names invasive species, habitat fragmentation, especially deforestation,

overpopulation, landscape conversion, and overkill as being the human caused factors that have

led to this new mass extinction (880-888). As the mass extinction continues, the world will

continue to change. Quammen fantasizes, “the world’s privileged class . . . will probably still

manage to maintain themselves . . . drinking bottled water and breathing bottled air” (895).

However, “the absolute poor will suffer their lack of ecological privilege in the form of lowered
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life expectance, bad health, absence of education, corrosive want, and anger,” he recounts (896).

While this idea of life, with bottled air and worse conditions for the poor, sounds tragic, there is

something even scarier about this mass extinction: the lack of certainty of what comes after. One

of Quammen’s sources states that biodiversity will not recover until five or ten million years

after the extinction; yet, another of his sources claims that the biodiversity will not recover until

the extinction’s cause is gone: the human race (896). While Quammen blames a variety of

factors as causing for this bleak future, I must disagree with him. Yes, these factors have aided to

the extinction, but they are not the underlying cause of it. The underlying cause is the lack of

respect people have for nature. People are anthropocentric, they focus on themselves. They do

not see other types of life as passengers too. People, the majority at least, see themselves as the

only passengers in the world. People have to open their eyes, people have to change their minds,

and people have to discover that the world is inspirited with other passengers. They have to

become biocentric; they have to focus on all life, not only humans. Because with this change of

mind, people will begin to respect nature and no one will have to find out what will happen to his

or her home at the end of the sixth mass extinction.

The change to the proper relationship between humans and nature is a fundamental one.

It is has to do with how people perceive nature. Collectively, it has been seen as a resource and

has been mistreated; this is why a sixth mass extinction is underway. The mindset that must be

achieved is three-fold. People must first realize that they are passengers in this world; then, they

must understand that this place is everyone’s home and is owned by no one; and finally, they

must realize that they live with other passengers, passengers that are inspirited and intelligent,

like themselves. This transition will not be easy, but the future mankind faces without it will not

be either.