When some portion of the biosphere is rather unpopular with the human race-a crocodile, a dandelion, a stony valley, a snowstorm, an odd-shaped flint-there are three sorts of human being who are particularly likely still to see point in it and befriend it. They are poets, scientists and children. Inside each of us, I suggest, representatives of all these groups can be found.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that poets, scientists, and children find value in nature even when it is not popular.
Mary Midgley's quote highlights the intrinsic appreciation for the natural world that exists within poets, scientists, and children. While certain aspects of nature may be overlooked or deemed unappealing by society, these groups possess the ability to recognize beauty and significance in all elements of the biosphere. Midgley suggests that these traits are not just exclusive to these groups but are present in everyone, urging a deeper connection and understanding of nature.
In practice
During a nature documentary screening, to emphasize the importance of every creature.
Evolution is the creation-myth of our age. By telling us our origin it shapes our views of what we are. It influences not just our thought, but our feelings and actions too, in a way which goes far beyond its official function as a biological theory.
Hubris calls for nemesis, and in one form or another it's going to get it, not as a punishment from outside but as the completion of a pattern already started.
As a child, I used to have a secret dread - and a recurring nightmare - of the whole world becoming city, being covered with cement and buildings and streets. No more country. No more woods.
Nature is more like a seesaw than a crystal, a never-ending conga line of bold moves and corrections.
The tree is stripped,_x000D_ _x000D_ All color, fragrance gone,_x000D_ _x000D_ Yet already on the bough,_x000D_ _x000D_ Uncaring spring!
By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration.
All things are connected, like the blood that runs in your family "The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father." 1854 The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. You must give to the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother.
I became an environmentalist because I love the living world, but I spend much of my life thinking about electricity, industrial processes and civil engineering.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.