Nature usually means the world not directly made by human beings, including life, ecology, physical processes, and cosmic order. Yet human beings themselves also belong to nature.
Nature matters because it is the basis of science, environmental ethics, and human self-understanding. Traditionally, people often oppose nature to culture or technology. But ecological crisis shows that human activity has deeply changed nature, making "pure nature" harder to define. Philosophy asks whether nature has purpose and value, or whether it is only unconscious process. AI and biotechnology further blur the boundary between natural and artificial. The question of nature reminds us that human beings are not masters standing outside nature, but living beings acting within natural systems and bearing consequences.
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- What Is Science?
- What Is Technical Reason?
- What Is Ecological Ethics?
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