It has seemed to me recently, while dealing with an infuriating infection that has temporarily limited my hearing, that nature and humankind differ greatly on their visions of the world. This of course can be portrayed simply, for instance in the human desire for electricity and a shelter made of bricks and cement, in contrast to other animals’ outside habitats. At a very basic level, people crave to escape the cruel downsides that nature possesses, such as the freezing night, and encompassing everything up to disease and death. To this end, we have developed clothes, heaters and medicine, to name but a few. In our fight against negative outside influences, we have conquered many foes, such as smallpox, and medical advances in the next century should add to our list of achievements. This is all positive; in fact, humankind’s technoscientific progress only becomes troubling when we attempt to alter that which is integral to ourselves, rather than simply an outside agent.

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