nature
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It’s Diversity All the Way Down
“The most impressive aspect of the living world is its diversity. No two individuals in sexually reproducing populations are the same, nor are any two populations, species, or higher taxa [categories of organisms]. Wherever one looks in nature, one finds… Continue reading
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Ol’ Man River and Wilson the Volleyball; Two Spiritual, Secular Icons
Two works of stage and screen, popular in their day, include physical objects that are, interestingly, infused with spiritual characteristics while remaining largely un-godlike. The first one is a river. Dere’s an ol’ man called de Mississippi Dat’s de ol’… Continue reading
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What Is the “Nature” In Naturalism?
Religious or spiritual naturalism (I’ll use spiritual for both here) is a subject dear to my heart. But sometimes I wonder about what exactly we have in mind when we use the word nature. In what I read and even in what… Continue reading
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Is the Universe Alive?
Is the universe alive? What about the earth? Or nature as a whole? My belief is that the universe along with earth’s mountains, oceans and atmosphere are not alive but that we feel they are living because we respond to… Continue reading
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A World Without Blue
I was surprised to learn recently (thanks, iain carstairs) that Homer, despite his descriptions of the sky and the “wine-dark sea,” never once used the word blue in the Iliad or Odyssey, composed nearly 3000 years ago. Why? Ancient Greek… Continue reading
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Pope Francis on the State of the World
Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environmental crisis may be of as much interest to non-theists and naturalists as to Catholics and other theists. Laudato si (“Praise be to you,” a phrase from St. Francis of Assisi) describes interconnections among… Continue reading
Lives on Earth 