35 pages • 1 hour read
Richard LouvThe Nature Principle
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Nature for our Mental, Spiritual, Physical, and Emotional Health
Nature-deficit disorder is the theory that nature is necessary for our mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional health. Throughout the book, Louv presents anecdotal evidence and the limited scientific research available on how nature benefits our health. This evidence is vital in convincing the reader that nature is important, and he recommends ways to reduce the nature-deficit. While research suggests that exercise is beneficial to our physical health, Louv is interested in a deeper connection with nature that is not yet understood. Louv believes that the mental health of our societies needs a deeper connection with the natural environment to thrive. Rather than focusing on the negative of what will happen if we don’t heed his advice, he focuses on the benefits of nature to our health and well-being.
The research on nature’s benefits to our physical health is the strongest, with limited mental health research. Still, Louv suggests that what research has been done is convincing: “[M]ore mainstream health care providers and organizations have begun to promote nature therapy for an array of illnesses and disease prevention” (46).
It is the emotional and spiritual link to our health that Louv tries to argue for using narrative accounts and personal experience due to the lack of research in this area. The spiritual connection to nature is the most controversial link he makes.
The Natural World is Wherever We Are
When we view our relationship with nature, images of wilderness hikes and camping in remote areas comes to mind. Louv hopes to change the reader’s view of nature: “Here’s my definition of nature: Human beings exist in nature anywhere they experience meaningful kindship with other species” (52). By expanding the reader’s view of what nature means, Louv hopes to create a sustainable and restorative practice for including nature in our everyday lives: suburban, urban, or rural.
The Opposition of Technology and Nature
Technology is a controversial topic when it comes to our relationship with nature. Many people view the digital age as working against our connection to the natural world and a distraction from our surroundings. Technology may even stunt early brain development, while time in nature has proven to stimulate brain activity. Louv views nature and technology as working together and not at odds with one another, despite the distraction of the digital age. The ability to maneuver these two worlds at the same time, without detriment to one or the other, is what Louv considers the hybrid mind, “using computers to maximize our powers to process intellectual data and natural environments to ignite all of our senses and accelerate our ability to learn and to feel” (38).
The theory of the hybrid mind is one way of finding balance and middle ground between two competing forces. With moderation and balance, the hybrid mind is more appealing to a larger audience and presents a more sustainable future. Louv stays away from extremist views for the most part, as he knows that the more people on board with the Nature Principle, the more likely it will prosper and change our society for the better.
Practical Recommendations for Change
A large part of Louv’s writing is presenting ways that individuals and communities can take part in change. These recommendations ensure that readers won’t become depressed or overwhelmed by the nature of the problem. Climate change and environmental impact by humans can quickly become a story of “doom and gloom,” leading readers to feel that the issue is too big to handle. Louv dissects the issues at hand and provides easy-to-follow, manageable changes. Louv writes with an optimistic tone, choosing to focus on the positive movements taking place and the positive actions that we can take.
While Louv doesn’t write this book as a how-to manual, there are an abundance of recommendations for change woven throughout the chapters. The recommendations are for all levels of change: the individual, the parent, neighborhoods, communities, government and business. By focusing not on a single group, but the whole picture, Louv paints a sustainable design for change. By not localizing the recommendations, it also helps to create an inclusive, positive tone, rather than a poignant, finger-pointing one.
Design and Business Incorporating Nature for Sustainable Change
Business and design are not traditionally nature-friendly. Louv is adamant that this is due to a lack of education on how nature design, or biophilic design, can work for businesses and land planning. There is a middle ground that Louv presents, in which businesses can make a profit from building eco-friendly. The benefits of biophilic design for businesses come from actual building and heating costs and the monetary benefit of happier employees.
While Louv sees business, development, and nature working together, this is not currently mainstream knowledge. Louv argues for “suburban redevelopment” that is about “higher human density and more natural habitat, rooftop gardens, walkability” (232). This change is not only for the good of reducing the nature deficit, but also for creating sustainable agriculture as populations increase and land availability decreases: “Green roofs and living walls can produce food and be used to purify polluted water” (202).
Green architecture, biophilic design, and suburban redevelopment are all major tenets of Louv’s theory of how to create sustainable change. He acknowledges throughout the book that change is difficult and needs to come from the bottom-up as well as top-down.
