Biophilia is the innate human instinct to appreciate. Biophilia is birdsong, it is clouds, it is the sun beaming on our face and warming our bodies. It is the water crashing on the shore, it is a houseplant sharing our communal space. It is the change of seasons and coming and going of life.
The human ambition to connect with nature and other living things can be described as Biophila. Nature’s abundant inspiration for humanity can influence our mental health, our pastimes, our travels, and our places of work and our homes.
Biophilia, which literally translates to “love of life,” is the idea that this fascination and communion with nature stem from an innate, biologically driven need to relate with other forms of life such as animals and plants.
Who Created the Term Biophilia?
The term is thought to have been coined by the well-known psychologist Erich Fromm, but it was promoted by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson through his 1984 book Biophilia. In it, Wilson proposed that humans’ attraction to nature is genetically programmed and the result of evolution.
For instance, the human appreciation for flowers, he theorized, was due to the fact that for many plant species, flowers signal that fruit (a rich source of nutrients for humans) would be soon to arrive. And human fondness for baby animals suggests that affiliating with animals, and protecting the most vulnerable among them, provided early people with an evolutionary benefit to propagate our species.
Creating a Relationship with the More-Than-Human World
During my Association of Nature and Forest Therapy training I found it so fascinating to learn the idea of creating a relationship with the more-than-human world and the multiple ways that can be done. Just like all relationships there has to be communication and reciprocity for the other so you can deepen your relationship. During our walks we are encouraged to consider different ways we can reciprocate what is being shared with us, whether through a gesture, a song, a dance or however you feel inspired to reciprocate. Taking the opportunity to reciprocate in some way to a plant that you are harvesting for tea, by giving it water, or a strand of your hair, also by asking if the plant wants to become tea and pausing to actually listen, giving space for a response. This will build our sense of relationship with nature and help us feel more related to the more than human world.
Why Can the Outdoors Make Me Feel More Alive?
Nature has the capacity to generate wonder and awe. The beauty and expansiveness of nature can lead people to appreciate the grandeur and awe of the universe, put their personal worries into perspective, and be more attentive to their world and their relationships. A study found that experiencing a sense of awe promotes altruism, loving-kindness, and generous behavior. The May 2015 study1, “Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior,” led by Paul Piff, PhD, from University of California, Irvine was published in the Journal of Personality2 and Social Psychology.
It is claimed that “awe produces specific cognitive and behavioral tendencies that assist individuals to fold into collaborative social groups and engage in collective action. Action within collectives, including collaboration, cooperation, and coaction, requires a diminished emphasis on the self and its interests and a shift to attending to the larger entities one is a part of (e.g., small groups, social collectives, and humanity). Enhanced prosocial tendencies—inclinations to share, care, and assist—further enable individuals to function more effectively within social collectives”.
Daily life and responsibilities can often cut us off from ourselves, our communities, other species, places and relationships. Biophilia is a word that could potentially beckon us all back to our bigger family, if we were to fully grasp it, accept it and live by it. It reminds us of our interconnectedness and the joys and meaning that those relationships could potentially bring to our lives.
For many, the experience of biophilia is interrupted or blocked because of the social and cultural expectations placed upon us at almost every moment. Our increased distance and detachment from the natural world, due to urbanization, technological advances, and other factors, could have negative effects on our well-being—not to mention on the more-than-human world itself.
Urgent Biophilia Going or Looking to Nature to Reflect Resiliency?
During Covid many people found themselves going out to parks and green places to explore, perhaps as a way to escape their four walls of lockdown, maybe to recreate or exercise, or perhaps it was looking to nature for some predictability some reassurance in a grand pattern that the world follows. Fractals are everywhere in the outdoors and we subconsciously recognize them as we sit or stroll. Fractals are repeating patterns that are matching, or similar. Examples in nature are leaves, snowflakes, flowers, ocean waves.
The results of many studies mentioned in psychology today show that exposure to fractal patterns in nature reduce people’s levels of stress up to 60%. “It seems this stress reduction effect occurs because of a certain physiological resonance within the eye. Some research indicates that certain types of artwork that have such patterns can also produce a relaxing affect. It may also be that certain architectural designs and landscapes can incorporate fractal patterns that resonate with relaxation.”
You may have been in a doctor or dentist office with scenic mural on the wall of some feature of nature. Bringing nature and those repetitive patterns indoors can have a calming effect on patients.
So how can nature/fractals help us feel happier?
Take a walk in nature, go to a park, visit a garden, yours or a friend’s, sit and watch the clouds for a while and notice the patterns. Experiment for yourself and deliberately place yourself in one of those fractal-rich environments for about 20 minutes daily for a week. Notice your stress level before and after each episode. See how many patterns you can notice to bring more calm and relaxation to your day.
How Can Biophila Help Me in My Everyday Life?
A much-cited study, published in 1984 in the journal Science by environmental psychologist Roger Ulrich, demonstrated that gazing at a garden can sometimes speed healing from surgery, infections and other ailments.
Ulrich and his team reviewed the medical records of people recovering from gallbladder surgery at a Pennsylvania hospital. On average, patients with bedside windows looking out over on leafy trees healed a day faster, needed significantly less pain medication and had fewer postsurgical problems than patients who instead saw a brick wall.
Just three to five minutes spent looking at views dominated by trees, flowers or water can begin to reduce anger, anxiety and pain and to induce relaxation, according to various studies of healthy people that measured physiological changes in blood pressure, muscle tension, or heart and brain electrical activity.”
Creating an Environment that Nurtures Your Need for Nature
In architecture, biophilic design is a sustainable design strategy that incorporates reconnecting people with the natural environment. Biophilic space has been defined as an environment that strengthens life and supports sociological and psychological components. There are many principals in biophilic architecture that are worth researching if you are building a new structure —maybe you’ll get some inspirational ideas about how best to create an enriching and soothing space by researching further.
For those who don’t have any building projects coming up there are many ways you can adapt your existing space to feel more connected to the outdoors. Houseplants are a big part of bringing the outdoors indoors. The green color of most plants has been shown to be a soothing color to humans as the color green indicates there is enough water around and that calms our subconscious mind.
The more plants, the better and especially if you can use vertical space to have climbing plants grow around columns or upon lattice structures. Paintings, photos, tapestries of nature to hang on your walls will be a calming addition to any blank wall. Essential oil diffusers are very useful to distribute the phytoncides of trees like cypress or spruce into your home so you can breathe in the helpful immune system boosters as you reside inside.
Water features are another relaxing piece you could add to an indoor space. The gentle trickle will set your mind at ease almost like white noise can. Window planters are a great option for those without much space and a convenient hands reach in the kitchen if you decide to plant herbs in yours. Using colors to decorate that reflect your natural environment around you can also be a way to tune into the subtle distinctions of your particular area.
If in the office and not able to access nature for a head-clearing walk you can always play nature sounds or there are even some videos up of fully documented HD nature walks so you can practice your noticing skills as you watch and listen to the sound of the recorded hike. Take a stroll in a natural area and practice noticing what things about nature make you feel happy and then be creative as to the best way to bring those items into your indoor space.
When Edward Wilson first coined the phrase “Biophilia Hypothesis”, he described a relationship and idea that unites every living thing on this planet. It is nice to have a word to describe such a big concept and now it is one of the few things that makes complete sense to me in a crazy and sometimes upside down world. Biophilia is big, beautiful and boundless. I look forward to exploring its many facets and I hope you feel inspired to do the same. We are nature—I hope you feel that, and if you don’t, I hope you get an opportunity to remember and rewild soon.
1 https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000018.pdf
2 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/personality
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/codes-joy/201209/fun-fractals
https://www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis
https://geneticsofdesign.com/2020/11/18/to-keep-calm-take-in-nature-fall-fractals/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-20-minute-nature-break-relieves-stress
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000018.pdf
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-that-nurtures/