Nature,
affinity and living,
three words;
by connecting them we are creating word webs.
na-ture (noun); First appeared 14th Century
Etymology: [Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin; natura, from natus, past participle of nasci, to be born -- from which comes the word NATION]
Nature
1: intrinsic quality.a : the inherent character or basic constitution of a person or thing : ESSENCE
b : DISPOSITION, TEMPERAMENT
2: forces or powers.a : a creative and controlling force in the universe
b : an inner force or the sum of such forces in an individual3 : a kind or class usually distinguished by fundamental or essential characteristics: documents of a confidential ~> or acts of a ceremonial ~> nature, implying character
4 : the physical constitution or drives of an organism; especially : an excretory organ or function -- used in phrases like the call of nature
5 : a spontaneous attitude (as of generosity)
6 : the external world in its entirety; Theo Colburn Home Page Our Stolen Future
7: conditiona : humankind's original or natural condition
b : a simplified mode of life resembling this condition
8 : the genetically controlled qualities of an organism
9 : natural scenery; NatureNet:The National Park Service's Natural History page
For synonyms see:
TYPE, EXISTENCE, REALITY, CREATION, ORDER, ESSENCE, CHARACTER, or WORLD
force of nature. First appeared 1981: FORCE
Historically Related ideas:
Mother Nature (noun). First appeared 1601
: nature personified as a woman considered as the source and guiding force of creation.
Related ideas: human nature (noun). First appeared 1668
: the nature of humans; especially : the fundamental dispositions and traits of humans
Related ideas: call of nature. First appeared 1763: the need to urinate or defecate
Related ideas: crime against nature. First appeared 1828: SODOMY
Related ideas: freak of nature. First appeared 1883: FREAK
RELATED CONCEPTS:
natural history (noun). First appeared 1567.
1 : a treatise on some aspect of nature
2 : the natural development of something (as an organism or disease) over a period of time
3 : the study of natural objects esp. in the field from an amateur or popular point of view
Related ideas: naturalist, nat-u-ral-ist (noun). First appeared 15871 : one that advocates or practices naturalism
2 : a student of natural history; especially : a field biologist
Affinity
Based on an old concept of the Middle Ages: affinity (Aristotle’s connatural knowledge)
af-fin-i-ty (noun), plural -ties, First appeared 14th Century
Etymology: [Middle English affinite, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French afinite, from Latin affinitas, from affinis bordering on, related by marriage, from ad- + finis end, border]RELATED to:
1 : relationship by marriage.
2: attraction or complementarity.a : sympathy marked by community of interest : KINSHIP
b (1) : an attraction to or liking for something <people with an ~ to darkness --Mark Twain> <pork and fennel have a natural ~ for each other --Abby Mandel>
(2) : an attractive force between substances or particles that causes them to enter into and remain in chemical combination
c : a person esp. of the opposite sex having a particular attraction for one.For a synonym see ATTRACTION
3: connection. link or ties.
a : likeness based on relationship or causal connection <found an ~ between the teller of a tale and the craftsman --Mary McCarthy> <this investigation, with affinities to a case history, a psychoanalysis, a detective story --Oliver Sachs>
b : a relation between biological groups involving resemblance in structural plan and indicating a common origin.
Nature has an affinity
to living things:
living; liv-ing [1] (adjective)
First appeared before 12th Century
1. creating an affect
a : having life
b : ACTIVE, FUNCTIONING <~ languages>
2. signal or indicator
a : exhibiting the life or motion of nature : NATURAL--the wilderness is a ~ museum ... of natural history--NEA Journal
b : [2]LIVE as opposed to dead, hence breathing or responding to stimulus.
3. vital
a : full of life or vigor,
b: Carrying Capacity, or the fullness of life exhibited in an area.
LESSON or
moral -
So nature is more than complex: G.
Hardin reminds us that:
"The natural world is organized into a web of life more complex than we
know."
(p. 23, Filters Against Folly, (NY: Viking,-Penguin, 1985).
See TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS GAME
