Biophilia and Making Bread.
By Steven Good
2 minute read
By Steven Good
2 minute read
As a Sealander, you’re a committed biophiliac.
Biophilia: (noun) the idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life.
The term ‘biophilia’ first came to prominence in the 1970’s when the pre-eminent psychoanalyst Erich Fromm described it as “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive.”
As Sealanders, our biophilia is as deep-rooted as a magnificent Outeniqua yellowwood.
We are drawn to and feel psychologically connected to and part of nature.
We revere and are inspired by it.
This is particularly so since Cape Town – a breathtaking confluence of majestic mountains and powerful oceans – is our home.
But feeling is not enough.
As the selfsame Erich Fromm so wisely points out in his seminal book, ‘The Art of Loving’ –
“Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a “standing in,” not a “falling for.”
In the most general way, the active character of love can be described by stating that love is primarily giving, not receiving.”
We need to demonstrate our biophilia through our actions.
We need to show our reverence for nature by giving to it – of our time, attention and effort.
As we pointed out in our blog, at the onset of the Covid pandemic, despite the magnitude of the pandemic, in the long term, it is dwarfed by the threats posed by climate change and the destruction of biodiversity.
Coronavirus must be seen as a fire drill for climate change.
If the outbreak of a virus in China can cause the dire global, social, and economic impacts Covid has, imagine how multiple, simultaneous climate change events might devastate communities. Try to picture, for example, the human catastrophe when cities like New York and Lagos are literally under water.
We need to acknowledge that we face emergencies in respect of climate change and biodiversity.
And as biophiliacs, we need to demonstrate our love of nature by taking action to counter these emergencies.
It is in this spirit of proactive action that we are immensely proud to have issued our first Responsibility Report earlier this year.
We commit to issuing a Responsibility Report every year and invite you to hold us accountable in ensuring that every year we do more to act on and demonstrate our biophilia.
We hope the words of the author Ursula K Le Guin inspire you also to put your biophilia into action –
‘Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone,
It has to be made, like bread
Remade all the time, made new.’
It has to be made, like bread
Remade all the time, made new.’
