A skillful elaboration of the notion of biophilia the idea that humans are part of evolution and, therefore, possess a basic biological attraction to nature arguing that this affinity and its expression affects quality of life. Kellert (forestry and environmental studies, Yale U.) demonstrates human connections with nature, discussing the material necessities which the natural world provide and also less substantial contributions to intellectual capacity, emotional bonding, aesthetic attraction, creativity, imagination, and the recognition of a purposeful existence. These expressions of biophilia, the author argues, are integral to overall health, and the ongoing degradation of the environment might have consequences that people have not yet considered. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Amazon.com Review

Do human beings have an innate, biologically-based attraction to nature? According to Stephen R. Kellert, author of Kinship to Mastery, "biophilia" is a distinct possibility. Certainly humankind's relationship with the physical world has long been evident in our dependence on nature for the tools of survival--everything from clothing to fossil fuel--but is there also a deeper, less obvious role that nature plays in our lives? Kellert posits that our abilities to emotionally bond, to create, imagine, or even simply recognize our existence as purposeful all stem from our relationships with the world around us.

And if our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being depends on the natural world, then the environment's degradation could have more disastrous effects than we realize. With Kinship to Mastery, Stephen Kellert presents yet another element in the ongoing debate over conservation, growth, and the environment; this is a book well worth reading.

From Library Journal

This latest book by Kellert (Yale Sch. of Forestry and Environmental Studies) builds on the research and ideas he elucidated for scholars in his recent The Value of Life (Island, 1996) and in his earlier collection, The Biophilia Hypothesis (LJ 11/1/93), to produce a much-needed introduction for the general reader to the concept of biophilia and its role in human development. He presents the empirical evidence in a straightforward manner while using narrative vignettes to illustrate the various ways biophilia is expressed in individual lives. His definition of biophilia makes clear that, although this human tendency to affiliate with living nature is encoded in our genes, it is highly dependent on culture for its strength and direction. Expressions of biophilia?for example, emotional bonding with companion animals?have been shaped by evolutionary advantage yet wither when society provides few opportunities to connect with natural diversity. Not all of Kellert's arguments are equally cogent, and some are speculative; nevertheless, he marshals a compelling case that a healthy, diverse natural environment is an "essential condition for human lives of satisfaction and fulfillment." Highly recommended for academic libraries and for public libraries interested in environmental issues.?Joan S. Elbers, Port Charlotte, Fla.

Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Modern science, like law, requires a preponderance of evidence to convince us. In Kinship to Mastery, Kellert ... uses a method that is the antithesis of that--he tells anecdotes: a boy brought back from despair at the death of his father by the gift of a dog from his sister; a parrot-toting prisoner who becomes an expert on psittacines; a yuppie couple whose marriage is saved by a trip to an island off Nova Scotia ... Unlike the often seen, numbingly impersonal statistics on the biological decrepitude of our planet, these anecdotal fictions strike home personally. Kellert's vignettes wake us up to smell the flowers--the ones that are left. -- The New York Times Book Review, Dorion Sagan

About the Author

Stephen R. Kellert was the Tweedy/Ordway Professor of Social Ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and author of numerous books including, The Biophilia Hypothesis (coedited with E. O. Wilson, 1993), The Value of Life: Biological Diversity and Human Society (1996), Kinship to Mastery: Biophilia in Human Evolution and Development (1997), The Good in Nature and Humanity: Connecting Science, Religion, and Spirituality with the Natural World (coedited with T. Farnham, 2002), and Children and Nature: Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations (coedited with P. H. Kahn, 2002).