Katie Kreisheimer- Making Nature Sacred pg 41

Making Nature Sacred “Belonging/Not Belonging to Nature” pg 41

Bradstreet presents the position that “we belong and do not belong to ‘nature.’” Though she continues on further to talk about how humans relate to existential amphibians, I perceived this quote in a different way. I relate the idea that we belong and don’t belong to nature in the sense of apophatic and kataphatic. We have the perception of nature that is familiar to us, with specific things we know, understand, and recognize that play the kataphatic role. Such as with the wilderness; there are specific things in specific places, and even we as humans belong in certain places made for us. We view ourselves as relating to nonhuman objects and so forth. We’re a part of nature in that sense. However, then there’s the apophatic perspective of nature that is beyond human existence and culture. It is the parts of nature that humans are not associated with, such as how unfamiliar we are to creatures in nature and other aspects of the wilderness. In this sense, we are not a part of nature. I believe in both views and agree with Bradstreet, we are a part of nature in a certain sense, but are not in another.