Clean air Quote by Derrick Jensen
““I have heard people suggest that because humans are natural that everything humans do or create is natural. Chainsaws are natural. Nuclear bombs are natural. Our economics is natural. Sex slavery is natural. Asphalt is natural. Cars are natural. Polluted water is natural. A devastated world is natural. A devasted phyche is natural. Unbridled exploitation is natural. Pure objectification is natural. This is, of course, nonsense. We are embedded in the natural world. We evolved as social creatures in this natural world. We require clean water to drink, or we die. We require clean air to breathe, or we die. We require food, or we die. We require love, affection, social contact in order to become our full selves. It is part of our evolutionary legacy as social creatures. Anything that helps us to understand all of this is natural: Any ritual, artifact, process, action is natural, to the degree that it reinforces our understanding of our embeddedness in the natural world, and any ritual, artifact, process, action is unnatural, to the degree that it does not””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Natural World and Human Constructs”, 2015
Human actions are natural only when they align with our evolutionary need for social and ecological well‑being; otherwise they are harmful.
In simple terms: Only actions that support human and ecological health are truly natural.
Key Takeaway
Align actions with ecological and social health.
Themes
environment
human nature
ethics
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
environmental
When to use this quote
- urban planning
- environmental policy
- personal lifestyle
- community building
Key Concepts
Evolutionary biology
social ecology
technology critique
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we define “natural” in modern society?
- What responsibilities arise from our natural embeddedness?
A Different Perspective
Not all human inventions are beneficial despite being “natural”.
