The word Nature- tell me why it shouldn’t be banned.

[bimble]

Request Rejected

great. thank you. Yep, from 'just things as they are' to 'everything thats untouched by us'.

 

[chilango]

great. thank you. Yep, from 'just things as they are' to 'everything thats untouched by us'.

Was trying to find his bit on 'Nature' in Keywords online. It's worth a read.

 

[bimble]

Nature (and the word natal) both come from a root that implies birth and some kind of living process. Not a car. Not ketamine for example. Most drugs come from some sort of living root. Ketamine doesn't. Ketamine is a purely chemical reaction, put together by humans. Doesn't start from nature, as a living process like a plant. Therefore we need 'nature' as a word to distinguish from other more artificial concepts like ketamine. And cars.

Thats quite sciencey, as a definition. You seem to be saying if humans just cultivated or extracted it it would still be Nature but if they made a new thing from bits of nature then it would be not, it would be .. artificial. So copper is nature but bronze isnt.

 

[planetgeli]

Thats quite sciencey, as a definition. You seem to be saying if humans just cultivated or extracted it it would still be Nature but if they made a new thing from bits of nature then it would be not, it would be .. artificial.

I'm saying nature is the phenomena of the physical world, one that is born. There is no way ketamine can fit this definition. It doesn't come from the living physical world. There is no plant or animal you can even start to obtain ketamine from. This, therefore, is the very definition of artificial.

 

[andysays]

Yep. Like oh look at the pretty view, of nature.

Certainly in Britain, and I guess in the majority of the world, the landscape and countryside are entirely the result of human activity rather than being in any way "natural".

Very little of what might commonly (not just in marketing speak) be referred to as nature or natural is genuinely so, if by the word we mean complete apart from any sort of human influence.

 

[bimble]

Certainly in Britain, and I guess in the majority of the world, the landscape and countryside are entirely the result of human activity rather than being in any way "natural".

Very little of what might commonly (not just in marketing speak) be referred to as nature or natural is genuinely so, if by the word we mean complete apart from any sort of human influence.

Yep. The cause of this thread is me sending a picture of a flower i grew (with great artifice) from seed to a friend and her replying something about the glory of Nature.

 

[bimble]

I reckon there would not be a matched equivalent to our word Nature in a lot of languages, where people don't / didnt feel so divided from it they'd have no need of it.

 

[andysays]

Yep. The cause of this thread is me sending a picture of a flower i grew (with great artifice) from seed to a friend and her replying something about the glory of Nature.

That's an interesting example.

Unless the seed you grew from is one which you collected from a wild flower, it's likely to have been deliberately altered from its original "natural" form by selective breeding to enhance and encourage particular characteristics (colour, smell, size of bloom, etc) and that's before you went through the process of growing it.

It might be glorious (I'm sure it is) but it isn't Nature, or even natural.

 

[a_chap]

Whether you think "nature" is a useful word or not, the RSPB are working to protect it.

Join and donate

Join the Big Garden Birdwatch, the UK’s longest-running and most popular garden wildlife survey. Since 1979, this annual event has been collecting valuable data on the health and diversity of the UK’s garden birds. By participating, you can help the RSPB protect and conserve our feathered friends.

www.rspb.org.uk

"Every gift you give, is a gift to nature - whether it’s a one-off donation or becoming a member.

When you join or donate to the RSPB, you’re standing up for nature. Your support and generosity,
whatever form it takes, helps us push forward with our valuable work. Nature would be in a far worse
place without you."

 

[bimble]

RSPB probably think that me feeding fatballs from the internet to the birds all winter is Nature, when in fact its the opposite.

 

[bimble]

That's an interesting example.

Unless the seed you grew from is one which you collected from a wild flower, it's likely to have been deliberately altered from its original "natural" form by selective breeding to enhance and encourage particular characteristics (colour, smell, size of bloom, etc) and that's before you went through the process of growing it.

It might be glorious (I'm sure it is) but it isn't Nature, or even natural.

Yep, it was in fact a rose, with a name, bred by some man a few decades ago and perpetuated since because humans love it, the most unnatural of things really. Smells great.

 

[bimble]

You know, humans invented lemons. So they're not a part of nature.

 

[Santino]

I'm saying nature is the phenomena of the physical world, one that is born. There is no way ketamine can fit this definition. It doesn't come from the living physical world. There is no plant or animal you can even start to obtain ketamine from. This, therefore, is the very definition of artificial.

Is a bird's nest natural?

 

[Santino]

You know, humans invented lemons. So they're not a part of nature.

And dogs.

 

[BillRiver]

And even synthetic things have to be made from things found on planet earth, no?

 

[Sasaferrato]

What is the word nature for? It exists just to vaguely and idiotically denote ‘stuff that’s nice and not us or connected to us’, which romantic notion is actually a pointless & deluded category to think with.
I’m going to stop using the word nature ever again because it’s crap. Probably invented by the victorians. Like the picturesque and cute Xmas cards with kittens on.
Am I wrong & if so when is Nature a meaningful pointful thing to say please thanks.

To me 'nature' is a convenient shorthand for 'The natural world'.

 

[bimble]

To me 'nature' is a convenient shorthand for 'The natural world'.

okay. Is my cat part of that world ? Are you part of it?

 

[bimble]

Is a bird's nest natural?

I like this question. If it is natural then so is my house thats made of lumps of burned mud, right?

 

[NoXion]

Is a bird's nest natural?

Depends on if nest-building is instinctive or not. Given the diversity of aves, I suspect it may depend on species.

 

[two sheds]

Yep. The cause of this thread is me sending a picture of a flower i grew (with great artifice) from seed to a friend and her replying something about the glory of Nature.

Did you grow it? Or did it grow itself? You may have bought it and planted it and watered it but I think it took over and grew itself.

Johnson and his mates would love to get rid of the word 'nature' so they could build all over the countryside. And yes it's a human-managed countryside but I prefer that to the concrete and bricks that will replace it.

 

[Aladdin]

Trees rivers animals etc.. is my cat part of Nature? If he is then am I as well or not?

Yes and yes

 

[Sasaferrato]

okay. Is my cat part of that world ? Are you part of it?

Yes, of course, we all are.

 

[bimble]

Did you grow it? Or did it grow itself? You may have bought it and planted it and watered it but I think it took over and grew itself.

Johnson and his mates would love to get rid of the word 'nature' so they could build all over the countryside. And yes it's a man-managed countryside but I prefer that to the concrete and bricks that will replace it.

Nah I think Johnson loves the word nature, he probably uses it all the time to excuse his pathetic misdemeanors or to invite people to chequers for the weekend.

 

[two sheds]

Nah I think Johnson loves the word nature, he probably uses it all the time to excuse his pathetic misdemeanors or to invite people to chequers for the weekend.

Bit of a swerve there

 

[weltweit]

Natural animals evolve through the survival of the fittest, domestic dogs and cats evolve through selective breeding. I couldn't say that one is more natural than the other.

Also as to synthesising things from natural ingredients, the items produced can certainly be called manmade, but whether they are unnatural is a different question. If humans are natural, then what they do is natural and what they produce is also natural.

And with our extensive influence on non man made nature, so much of the world has already been strongly influenced by man. Yet is considered natural.

 

[bimble]

Yes, of course, we all are.

Then you're using it in an idiosyncratic way. If you mean all living things and all of their doings, so that includes bonzai and pizza delivery apps as part of nature, which is fine, if that's your understanding of the word, but unusual.

 

[LDC]

Nah I think Johnson loves the word nature, he probably uses it all the time to excuse his pathetic misdemeanors or to invite people to chequers for the weekend.

Yeah, the ecology of the world is just fine, look at all those lovely natural parks and bits we preserve to look at. Nothing to worry about at all, how can there be when we have Nature Reserves with lovely birds and pretty flowers in?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

 

[bimble]

Puddy_Tat that's one of the (let me list them) things thats so great about the cat, unlike dogs he hasn't bothered to evolve eyebrows with which to charm me with human-ish plaintive facial expressions, and he still has his proper claws. He is basically a tiny lion. yes. Dog people I bet they use the word Nature all the time.

 

[prunus]

Nature (and the word natal) both come from a root that implies birth and some kind of living process. Not a car. Not ketamine for example. Most drugs come from some sort of living root. Ketamine doesn't. Ketamine is a purely chemical reaction, put together by humans. Doesn't start from nature, as a living process like a plant. Therefore we need 'nature' as a word to distinguish from other more artificial concepts like ketamine. And cars.

I was joining his thread with the half-formed intention of saying something clever but I see planetgeli has sorted it out already so I’m not going to post here.