Cultural Frameworks to Human & Nature Interconnection

Our perspectives, attitudes, beliefs, values, and relationship with the natural world can be deeply influenced by both our cultural conditioning and worldviews. And our cultural backgrounds and worldviews can have a direct impact on humans ability to act as stewards of the land. Because of this, cultural context is an essential variable to include when thinking broadly about the human - nature connection. In this section, we’ll briefly explore how both culture and worldviews may shape our understanding of the relationship between ourselves and the natural world, and how cultural diversity and biodiversity are directly linked. 

TASK:  Read a brief description of culture below. 

Culture refers to the set of shared beliefs, values, customs, traditions, languages, arts, and social behaviors that characterize a particular group of people. It encompasses the way of life and identity of a community or society, influencing how individuals within that group perceive the world, interact with each other, and make sense of their experiences. Culture is transmitted across generations through social learning and plays a central role in shaping human behavior, norms, and societal institutions. 

Through an evolutionary lens, culture can be seen as a behavioral adaptation that is sustained through cultural inheritance. Cultural inheritance is the passing of information, beliefs, and practices from one generation to the next through social learning and communication. Unlike genetic inheritance, which occurs over long periods through biological evolution, cultural inheritance allows for rapid adaptation and transmission of knowledge within a single generation.

While elements of culture can be observed in certain animal species, human culture is understood to be highly complex in its adaptability, and diversity, reflecting our unique cognitive, social, and symbolic capacities. Culture is deeply intertwined with what it means to be human, shaping our identities, relationships, and ways of understanding and interacting with the world.

TASK: Read Article: “Does Culture Shape Our Environmental Attitudes?”

TASK: Read this article to learn more about the link between cultural diversity and biodiversity: “What is Biocultural Diversity, and Why Does it Matter?”