Introduction
In recent years, the relationship between humans and the natural world has come under intense scrutiny, as ecological crises demand both theoretical and practical reconsiderations of how we live within nature. While objective science has provided essential insights into environmental degradation and conservation, there remains a gap in understanding the deeper, subjective connections humans have with the environment. These connections often elude rational, mechanistic explanations but offer profound insights into how humans might live ethically and in harmony with the natural world.
This article argues that human interaction with nature transcends objective ecological science, revealing a phenomenological, ethical, and spiritual dimension. Through the lens of transcendental phenomenology and ecological ethics, I will explore how subjective experience—especially when framed by spiritual and ethical insights—offers a transformative way of understanding our place within nature. By integrating insights from phenomenology, theology and deep ecology, I propose that a renewed approach to ecology, one that encompasses ethics and revelation, is necessary to fully appreciate the interconnectedness of human life and the environment.
Ecology and Perception: A Phenomenological View
The experience of nature is often framed as an objective, shared reality, but this view overlooks the profound subjectivity inherent in human perception. If we consider the diversity of sensory experiences across species, the notion of a singular, objective natural world becomes tenuous. For instance, the fly’s perception of time, processed through its facet eyes, is vastly different from human visual perception. This discrepancy highlights that nature is not experienced uniformly, even within the animal kingdom.
From a phenomenological perspective, human perception is shaped by the way we inhabit and engage with our environment. Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a key figure in phenomenology, argued that our perception of the world is inherently embodied, meaning that how we see and feel nature is tied to our physical being. We do not merely observe nature; we are in constant, sensuous interaction with it. This embodied experience forms the basis for a deeper connection with nature, one that transcends the objective understanding found in ecological science.
Philosophers such as Charles Darwin and Karl Marx have suggested that human beings must return to a more ‘primitive’ way of living in order to restore harmony with nature (e.g. survival of the fastest, fittest, and the ones able to adapt). However, this perspective, while valuable, overlooks the complexity of human rationality and spiritual experiences. Our capacity for abstract thought, ethical reasoning, and spiritual insight adds layers to our relationship with nature that go beyond mere survival or utilitarian interaction with the environment.
Spirituality and Nature: Ethical Insights through Revelation
One of the most profound ways in which humans relate to nature is through spiritual experiences. These experiences, while often considered mystical or ineffable, provide ethical insights into how we ought to live within nature. In The Spell of the Sensuous, deep ecologist David Abram highlights the sensory richness of human experience as a gateway to understanding the “more-than-human world.” Inspired by Arne Næss’s deep ecology, Abram argues that human cognition is not isolated from the environment; rather, it is deeply intertwined with the animate world around us. This sensuous contact with nature calls into question the view of the natural world as inert or inanimate, a notion propagated by certain forms of modern science.
Religious experiences further illustrate how nature serves as a conduit for ethical and spiritual revelation. Psychologist William James, in The Varieties of Religious Experience, documented cases where individuals reported a direct experience of the divine through their engagement with landscapes or natural elements. These encounters, often accompanied by feelings of awe and transcendence, suggest that nature has the potential to reveal ethical truths and spiritual realities beyond the confines of rational inquiry.
The ethical implications of these spiritual experiences are significant. If nature is not merely an object of observation, but a source of ethical and spiritual guidance, then the way humans interact with the environment must be rethought. Ethical living, in this context, is not simply about conservation or sustainability in the narrow sense but involves a deeper responsibility to live in harmony with the spiritual and sensuous dimensions of the natural world.
Husserl’s Life-World and the Transcendental Self
Edmund Husserl’s concept of the Lebenswelt (life-world) offers a useful framework for understanding the intersection between human rationality and the more ‘primitive’ aspects of our existence in nature. According to Husserl, human beings exist between two worlds: the abstract, rational realm and the sensuous, embodied life-world of nature. While modern science emphasizes the former, it is the latter that forms the basis of our immediate experience. For Husserl, this sensuous world is not merely a backdrop to human life but a vital component of our existence, one that shapes our understanding and experience of reality.
However, Husserl’s life-world theory, while illuminating, does not fully address the spiritual dimension of human experience in nature. His framework leaves room for what he calls the “transcendental ego,” a self that transcends the boundaries of the sensuous world and engages with abstract, ethical, and spiritual realities. In this sense, the transcendental ego can be understood as the human capacity to perceive ethical and spiritual truths beyond the immediate, physical environment.
This interplay between the rational and the spiritual is essential for understanding how humans can live ethically in relation to nature. While the life-world grounds us in the immediate, sensuous experience of nature, the transcendental ego opens the possibility for ethical and spiritual insights that guide our actions and relationships with the environment.
Sources that inspired this article:
- James, William (1902) The Varieties of Religious Experience. Routledge Classics *
* for examples of religious experiences in relation with nature : see page 177, 278 amongst more.
- Abram, David (1996) The Spell of the Sensous. First Vintage Books Edition.
- Jaegwon, Kim (2006) Philosophy of Mind. Westview Press
- Ahmad Tahir, Mirza (1998) Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth. Islam International Publications Ltd.