Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.
The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord. The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers, and has steadily gained currency ever since. This usage was confirmed during the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.
Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" often refers to geology and wildlife. Nature may refer to the general realm of various types of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects – the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth, and the matter and energy of which all these things are composed. It is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or wilderness–wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For example, manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature, unless qualified as, for example, "human nature" or "the whole of nature". This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term "natural" might also be distinguished from the unnatural, the supernatural, or synthetic.
It is capitalized when used as a proper noun, as in 'the nature of Nature'.
Read more about Nature: Earth, Atmosphere, Climate, and Weather, Water On Earth, Ecosystems, Life, Human Interrelationship, Matter and Energy, Beyond Earth
Other articles related to "human, nature, humans":
... him the same respect you would a Buddha” express his first and highest transmission— the human qualities Shakyamuni hoped most to see in those who practiced the Lotus Sutra in the future after his passing ... In other words, the most fundamental thing is our action and behavior as human beings, our ability to care for and treasure a single individual ... countering the violent tides of such an age is with strong faith in the Buddha-nature of oneself and of others ...
... at the group level, one must first look at the nature of both cultures before coming into contact with one another ... theory such as an "upward-forward progress" in human development toward total assimilation, the DAD theory cannot be used to measure movement toward final desired and postulated outcomes based on value judgments. 370) they could, just as Galton and Pearson proposed, be bred out of the human population through comparison of group statistical means and selective reproduction ...
... which lies in the ability to act finally, the sense that human life is difficult and happiness elusive, that fleeting joy is life's only reward and that love is necessary to humanity ... Wilcher wishes to be a pilgrim, yet his conservative nature keeps him from ever leaving a restricted life ... that we find some kind of sympathy and understanding for each of these human beings whose lives shape the flow of history even as they are swept along by it ...
... He also appeared in Bagi, The Monster of Mighty Nature, and makes cameo appearances in Jungle Emperor Leo ... In the manga, his good nature and incorruptible heart, combined with an array of powers, put him on a quest to protect robots and humans from villainous conquerors and alien invaders ... in Japan, he acts as an ambassador toward the human world for animals ...
Famous quotes containing the words human and/or nature:
“There seems to be a kind of order in the universe, in the movement of the stars and the turning of the earth and the changing of the seasons, and even in the cycle of human life. But human life itself is almost pure chaos. Everyone takes his stance, asserts his own rights and feelings, mistaking the motives of others, and his own.”
—Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980)
“Good nature and good sense must ever join;
To err is human, to forgive divine.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)