Over the previous decades, research has been focused on understanding the relationship between man and nature. While pundits may argue about this relationship, there is substantive evidence demonstrating an intricate relationship between humans and nature. We depend on nature for basic needs, economic growth, and health. 

Man lives in the sphere of nature. 

As humans, nature always surrounds us.  We interact with it now and then. The biosphere is the most crucial part of nature regarding the man-nature relationship. It includes the thin layer surrounding the earth, the soil cover, and any living creature.  Without nature, human beings can’t live normal lives. In other words, man needs nature more than nature needs him. Nature can exist without man, but humans can’t exist without nature.

Man has a massive influence on nature

Humans aren’t just mere dwellers in the sphere of nature. They also transform nature.  Since man’s existence, he has adapted nature and further made all sorts of incursions into nature. Man has spent enormous energy and time changing nature.  The observation explains that man has consistently transformed nature’s wealth into the present-day means of the historical and cultural life of modern society.  For instance, man has exploited nature to generate electricity and then utilizes the electrical power to serve his interest and his community.  Man hasn’t just transferred a variety of animal and plant species to various climatic conditions, but he has further altered the climate of his habitat.

Man and nature connection is strong.

While man’s connection to nature has been severely weakened by man’s dependence on nature for domestic and industrial resources over the years, man still has a strong connection to nature.  After all, man’s psychological and physical need for nature remains intact. As far as nature will continue being man’s source of physical and psychological well-being, humans will remain deeply connected to nature. That explains the deep and strong relationship between nature and man.

Nature and man interact dialectically.

The interaction between nature and man is such that, the more the society progresses, the more man relies less on nature. Think about it; we rely on natural resources for the sustenance of cities and the development of technologies. The components of your phone are mainly derived from the minerals-a natural resource! Again, as man continues to discover more about nature, the more he strives to transform it. Man’s influence on nature increases progressively. Nevertheless, man continues to come into more contact with nature as time progresses.

There are specific stages of man-nature relationship.

The relationship between nature and man has various stages. The first stage is whereby man depends entirely on nature.  Since time immemorial, man has thrived regardless of the enormity of natural formations. He has always been awake to nature’s destructive and menacing forces. The second stage of the man-nature relationship is whereby nature changes its face in the course of its interaction with man. The third stage is whereby man is concerned with preserving nature for the sake of his needs.

The man-nature connection has led to unforeseen paradoxes

One of the unforeseen paradoxes that have been brought about by the man-nature relationship is the infamous paradox of saturation. Since the existence of man on the planet millions of years ago, the effects of humans’ power over nature were insignificant.  With time, man’s over-exploitation led to the destruction of nearly all aspects of nature. A key example of the prolonged over-exploitation of nature by humans is pollution.  Over the years, pollution has led to the destruction of key aspects of nature such as water and the atmosphere. Currently, plastic pollution is an environmental menace that is challenging for our generation. 

The man-nature relationship has been characterized by overuse and imbalance.

Almost every part of man’s history has been marked with nature exploitation, specifically environmental degradation.  Initially, humans were incredibly in-tune with their surroundings. The ancient people had an insignificant effect on nature, due to their meager population size. But as the human population continued to soar, coupled with technological advancements, man started using more efficient methods of sustaining himself. As populations grew, and societies evolved, the demand for resources shot drastically. This trend led to man distancing himself from nature. He was no longer in-tune with nature. This led to an imbalance and over-use of nature.