biophilia

Edward O. Wilson “Biophilia”:

bi·o·phil·i·a   [bahy-oh-fil-ee-uh, ‐feel-yuh]

–noun

1. love of life or living systems; an appreciation of life and the living world.

2. The innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes

American biologist Edward Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis puts forward the idea of an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. He uses his expertise in biology, particularly evolutionary psychology and biodiversity, to create the constructs behind his approach towards the relationship between humans and ecology, even venturing towards a new take on conservation ethics. The way he combines his knowledge of multiple fields towards an idea that bridges the gap between ecology, psychology, and biology is really just brilliant, and a surprisingly easy to follow.

Following these ideas, biophilic design attempts to create environments people would thrive in that are more like habitats, instead of isolated spaces, and in general blurs the distinction between buildings and landscape. While similar to green building and other morphologic design, biophilic design brings in a whole new set of considerations aimed towards pleasing the user. Considering Wilson’s ideas on the need for conservation ethics to cater towards people’s selfish desires to generate motivation, perhaps biophilic design’s hedonistic aims could be used towards making a more appealing case for green building.

somewhat random but interesting quote from the book:

“The unique operations of the brain are a result of natural selection operating through the filter of culture. They have suspended us between the two antipodal ideals of nature and machine, forest and city, the natural and the artifactual, relentlessly seeking, in the words of the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, an equilibrium not of this world.”