review: natural

Do what comes naturally'

'It's only natural'

'Let nature run its course'

We all accept these phrases and those that are similar as being logically sound without question. If something comes naturally, then surely it must be right, and if it was going to happen anyway, then it must be good, right? Examples of these include our unreasonable acceptance that gut feelings are ignored at our own peril and that a mother's intuition is always right.

Knowingly or unknowingly, most of us believe in the importance and the inherent goodness of nature, but where does this belief come from and how reasonable is it? With many 'unnatural' technological advances like novel gene editing and implantable chips, the gravity of answering these questions cannot be understated. Levinovitz attempts to do exactly this in his book Natural: The Seductive Myth of Nature's Goodness.

Nature/Natural in different traditions

Levinovitz makes mention of how the inherent goodness of nature is consistent with most traditions over time. The Taoists of ancient China spoke of the significance of ziran, the “self-so”, which translates to something like 'the spontaneous occurrences in the universe'. The Taoists believed that the spontaneous transformations (aka natural events) of the universe are not the product of any assertive desire or action, and for humans to interfere by asserting their will is to interrupt the ideal state of existence. This disruption isn't without consequence.

Nature/natural plays an important role in Islam. Muslims believe that all humans are born with the fitrah (primordial nature) which can also be translated to natural disposition or tendency. Intrinsic to this is the ability to perceive the Oneness of God, and through adverse environmental influences and/or self-indulgence is this disposition influenced and contaminated.

Problems with the term

Beyond the subscribers of ancient traditions and religious beliefs, nature seems to play an important role in most of our day-to-day lives, from the foods we eat and our behavioural habits to the use of natural analogies to provide support for our beliefs. The more naturally aligned our political, economic, and social systems are the better.

The issue with this, as Levinovitz rightfully points out, is that there are many naturally occurring phenomena that are not good (maternal and infant mortality, disease etc), therefore using nature interchangeably with goodness is rife with contradictions. Befitting of a Professor of Religious Studies, he concludes that these terms are theological in nature (lool), whereby 'Nature' is another term for God and 'natural' is holy. Just as God's Commandments cannot be disobeyed, he argues that Nature's Commandments cannot be ignored.

I used to scorn at anti-vaxxers and didn't understand their sentiment, however, after reading this book it has become apparent to me that we all subscribe to the axiom that is 'what's natural is good', any lines that we draw seem somewhat arbitrary. Anti-vaxxers are depicted as uneducated idiots with no care for the world, in my opinion, they seem to be people who genuinely want the best for themselves and their children- depicting them as maniacs and straw-manning their arguments helps no one. What seems to be happening is no different than the disagreements between religious fundamentalists (anti-vaxxers) and religious liberals (vaxxers[??]).

Natural Births

Natural births highlight how what's natural is synonymous with doing what's right. Proponents of natural births speak of the blissful days of yesteryear when children were born without the need for epidurals or invasive care. Many refer to animals and make mention of how following their instincts seem to work for them and also point to how women throughout history didn't require medical assistance.

Unfortunately, it's easy for the unexamined past to resemble a utopia, but with the slightest bit of inspection, we can come to learn that that's the furthest from the truth. Maternal mortality in the UK in the early 18th century was as high as 1000 per 100,000 births and is now at 19 per 100,000 births (as of 2016), which can be largely attributed to transcending nature and implementing the 'unnatural' practices which saw advances in healthcare.

In the process of medicalising pregnancy to ensure safety, Levinovitz mentions how many mothers felt that this transformed a miracle into a disease and treated the miracle bearers as ill patients. The experience reduced pregnancy to a medical condition, described only in terms of risk, and reduced the value of the experience into purely scientific metrics. In this respect, it's easy to see why many mothers opt for natural births, even with the associated risks.

Natural at what cost?

Levinovitz mentions how vanilla became a staple item in every household from when it was first brought to Europe after the invasion of the Americas, to the discovery of artificial insemination by the 12-year-old Edmond Albius some 200 years later.

This process of artificial insemination of vanilla is by hand-pollinating every individual flower, an endeavor so expensive that most vanilla is derived from petrochemicals. The idea that anything I put in my mouth comes from petrochemicals is sickening, on the basis that it isn't natural. However, after little reflection, I realised that the alternative (artificial insemination) isn't much of a 'natural' alternative and as Levinovitz points out, the history of food seems to be built on its unnatural manipulation e.g., heating, cooling, mixing etc. I tried to find out exactly where I draw this arbitrary line and had no success.

Producing vanilla from petrochemicals not only democratises it, but also limits the number of children on plantations labouring to make 'natural' vanilla so I can feel better about what I eat. Then I guess where I would draw my arbitrary line is at the point where my pursuit for what is natural is at the expense of other people.

A privilege

Many around the world would leap at the opportunity to have access to cheap foods, even if its origin wasn't 'natural' and many women around the globe would give anything to have access to 'unnatural' neo-natal and maternal care. Levinovitz shares a story about when he spent time with the people of Huacaria, a native community in the Amazon, who were actively choosing to integrate fewer natural practices. An elderly Matsigenka woman shared her gratitude for running water and another elderly man looked at Levinovitz with confusion when he was asked whether he was happy having electricity, responding yes as they could now see at night."

The modern dilemma of whether nature should be transcended seems to be a luxury problem that only those who live in comfort have to worry about. Tackling this requires gratitude for the unnatural advances that have provided us with the opportunity to have these discussions and serious reflections on our personal relationship with nature."

Anyway, it's a cool book, highly recommend.