Jesse Brandon: Final Paper Post
The
Importance of Nature and Natural Design in Securing (Genuine) Happiness
Final
Post: Part 1
“Look
deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
-Albert
Einstein
For
me happiness lies within the confines of more naturalistic sense. I feel that the
key to happiness is within ones’ bond with the natural word and the laws she consequently
deems as necessary and true; and, unfortunately, in recent times, the
protection of our natural home.
Consider
this, often, disregarded, fact: Life as we now know it, with all the niceties
of our burgeoning technological development, is still a very new way of living
for human beings as a species. The roots of our newly accustomed, modern, lifestyle,
dates back only, roughly, 200 years; not to mention, this difference, in
lifestyle/way of living, is significant and expansive when one contrapositions the
past 200 years to the other 200,000 years of our existence as a species!
It
is only in recent times that humans have been confined to the man-made
environments of concrete jungles, as well as, the glowing screens and the virtual
worlds within them many are turning to instead of the real world in front of
them. Our species evolved with, and within, nature for thousands and thousands
of years and I, for one, feel, that our current way of life is unnatural, and, perceive
the effects of the, over-encroaching, modern world as negative on our Earth/environment,
our way of life and, most notably, our subjective wellbeing/happiness. With
that being said, -although, this is not a new realization for many philosophers
and literary types- many researchers are finding more and more evidence
suggesting how our recent separation from our natural home is causing us harm;
and how a return to nature is beneficial to our physical and emotional wellbeing.
In
summation, if any of my favorite philosophers/writers were alive today, I am
almost certain Henry David Thoreau would agree with me; Thoreau would most certainly,
and metaphorically, relate the internet -among, other advancements- as the new railroad.
Thus, I believe, we need only to, look deep, deep into nature –and, although,
he would advise you arrive to your own thoughts/conclusions, maybe, read more
Henry David Thoreau- to understand everything, especially our perception and understanding
of happiness, much, much better; if not, go into the woods, to live
deliberately!
For
further consideration/reading:
<
(right) Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's Notes on the Railroad, (Walden, Ch. IV)
Henry David Thoreau, What’s the Railroad to Me?
Final
Post: Part 2
"Deviation
from nature is deviation from happiness"
- Samuel Johnson
Personally,
I believe it is easy to see much of this "Deviation from nature,” and, consequently, many peoples’ “deviation from happiness" in this
day and age. Granted, this may be an unfair opinion, for I have not had the opportunity
to live in another time; a time when there was not such a proliferate magnetism
towards technology or, better yet, modern living, nor, the expansive withdrawal
from nature as a whole. Nonetheless, I still feel like one of “the last of the Mohicans,”
since, I can, at the very least, remember a time without computers or
cellphones. Moreover, I may not have arrived to this day and age by means of a
time machine, but, I do come from an area that, almost mythically, seems to be
encapsulated in a time forgotten; this anachronistic place is known as Winchester.
Most everyone there seems to be,
generally, pretty happy; furthermore, I believe this is because, most everyone,
has deep ties to the expansive flora and fauna that surround the town.
Coming to Murfreesboro from Winchester,
-granted, this is probably not the best comparison I can extrapolate upon, although,
the it is one I can draw upon from personal experience- I feel I see this
deviation from nature and happiness; even considering, that the distance and differences
of environment are not severely drastic. Due to the higher propensity towards
technology in urban areas, the differences I perceive, -between residents of
the more metropolis Murfreesboro, versus those in, extremely, rural, Winchester,
and each’s subsequent, overall, level of happiness of residents- pertains to individuals’
overall level of nature connectedness
and nature relatedness, as well as,
level of interpersonal communication and creativity.
Moreover,
concerning the differences and their importance, there are several,
particularly interesting, studies, concerning ones’ relation to nature and, their,
overall, subjective wellbeing, -titled, Happiness
and Feeling Connected: The Distinct Role of Nature Relatedness- by John
Zelenski and Elizabeth Nisbet. Zelenski and Nisbet conducted these studies with
one question in mind: Is the link between nature and happiness independent from
the other things that make us feel emotionally connected to life, like family,
country, culture, music, and friends?
These
studies found that our connections -mainly, emotional, but also physical- with
nature, is predictive of our attitudes, as well as, the choices we make about
living sustainable and manageable lifestyles. Additionally, the study purported
a unique connection between nature and overall happiness itself! The results of
their research suggest that “nature
relatedness has a distinct happiness benefit” beyond the more generalized
benefit of feeling connected to family, friends, culture, and son on. Furthermore,
ones’ connection to nature also showed to correlate with most measures of
subjective well-being; indicating that it, most likely, plays an extremely important,
if not more important, role in maintaining ones’ positive mental health.
In
other words, our emotional connectedness to the natural world is distinct from
other psychological connections in our lives, nature relatedness often predicts
happiness regardless of other psychological factors, and psychological
connections with nature have the capacity to facilitate sustainable attitudes; and
may be an important tool in preserving our environment, as well as, future
happiness as a species.
Ergo,
according to the studies by Zelenski and Nisbet, it is easy to see that ones’
connection with nature is important in securing happiness.
For
Further Consideration/Reading:
Scientific American Podcast: 60 Seconds of Science
Nature
Boosts Self-Evaluation of Vitality
Zelenski, J., & Nisbet.
Happiness
and Feeling Connected: The Distinct Role of Nature Relatedness.
Final
Post: Part 3
“Nature
always wears the colors of the spirit.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
What
are the colors of the spirit? I cannot say for certain, but, I am willing to
surmise everyone has the sense of knowing it when they see it. This moves onto
my next subject of debate; this part concerns, the contentious topic, of genetic
modification/engineering; primarily, on the subject of developing optimal or
manufactured happiness.
Truth be told, in terms of “evolving”-
considering, this is a touchy subject for some- or advancing/improving our
species as a race we must have mutations or genetic abnormalities that become
present to adapt to our ever-changing environment. Thus, it only seems rational
that if these mutations do not present themselves that we should push them to
appear.
I,
again, much like Thoreau and his metaphor/consideration on the railroad, can
see the medical/technological benefits that would ensue from developing this
type of advancement; however, should we advocate or experiment with such, near
taboo, god-like practices? I think not!; for these few reasons alone. One, if
we create an artificial, test-tube, sense happiness, will even know what real
happiness is; let alone feel it? I believe real happiness can only be realized
or measured if one knows what it means to be truly sad. Thus, why would we
eliminate the emotion of sadness if we had the ability to do so? By doing so, I
believe we will eliminate one of the core attributes that makes us feel human. Furthermore,
and possibly on a more paranoid note, I would like to mention the fact that single
celled organisms existed only for the purpose of creating multi-cellular
organisms. By this I mean, if we continue to try to manufacture designer humans
or designers emotions for humans, I believe we will, altogether, stop being
human; in effect, separating ourselves from nature, altogether, and loosing “the
colors of the spirit.”
However, one could call me narrow-minded,
and contradict me by stating, yet, another famous quote by Albert Einstein:
"A human being is a part of the whole, called
by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a
few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the
whole of nature in its beauty."
`In
any event, this is a topic left up to much debate: however, personally, I would
have to say ones’ happiness is best left achieving outside of a lab
For further
consideration/reading:
Aldous
Huxley
Brave New World
Works Cited
Aaron.
Thoreau’s Consideration of The Railroad
is a Blessing, a Curse, and a Symbol. Anthology of Ideas.
June 24, 2006. http://anthologyoi.com/literature-thoreaus-consideration-of-the-railroad-is-a-blessing-a-curse-and-a-symbol/
Zelenski,
J., & Nisbet, E. (2014). Happiness
and Feeling Connected: The Distinct Role of Nature Relatedness. Environment
and Behavior, (46), 3-23. Journal. Web. http://eab.sagepub.com/content/46/1/3.full.pdf+html
Good
Reads. Quotes on Nature. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/nature.
Web.
Thoreau's
Notes on the Railroad. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuN-R72kdJU
I'm with you, on the value of our natural identity as an anchor we can't afford to pull up. The trick is not to renounce technology and culture but to integrate them with that identity and inform them by it. Einstein, as always, offers beautiful thoughts in that regard: the sense of our separateness from nature, the rift of consciousness, is a delusion that can become a self-actualizing "prison"... echoing Bertrand Russell's concluding thoughts on cosmic consciousness. Our happiness depends on healing the rift, perpetually.
ReplyDeleteThe question of engineered happiness is a complicated one, which I look forward to exploring with you in Bioethics!