Loving Nature: Towards an Ecology of Emotion

InLoving NatureKay Milton considers why some people in western societies grow up to be nature lovers, actively concerned about the welfare and future of plants, animals, ecosystems and nature in general, while others seem indifferent or intent on destroying these things. Drawing on findings and ideas from anthropology, psychology, cognitive science and philosophy, the author discusses how we come to understand nature as we do, and above all, how we develop emotional commitments to it. The author argues that the conventional opposition between emotion and rationality in western culture is a myth, the effect of which has been to exclude from public decision making the kind of emotional attachments that support more environmentally sensitive ways of living.