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Philosophy, Religion & beliefs, Nature & existence of God
Why arguments based on what is 'natural', in food, medicine, and society at large, are appeals to a false idol - our oldest, most persistent superstition
Without our realising it, a single, slippery concept has become a secular deity throughout the modern industrial world. We make terrible sacrifices in its name: of our money, our health, and our planet. That deity is nature itself.
From supermarket shoppers to evolutionary biologists, from atheists to pastors, from Alex Jones to Gwyneth Paltrow, we are all prone to the intuitive faith that life should be lived 'naturally'.
But nature can't teach us how to live. If we try to stick to its imagined commands, eschewing human artifice in pursuit of Edenic purity, we jeopardise the environment, our health, and our society. (We also waste a lot of money on pots of weird slime). It is time to accept our profound responsibility to shape the world of which our technology
and our selves are wholly a part.
Praise for Natural: The Seductive Myth of Nature's Goodness
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'This is important stuff, as evidenced every time someone discusses the supposed naturalness and thus supposed inevitability of some appalling human behavior. [Natural] is a superb book - fascinating, accessible, elegantly written, and deeply thought-provoking.' - The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
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'In a fascinating tour across time, cultures, and ideas, Alan Levinovitz shows us how the worship of an abstract
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idea of nature can lead us astray in everything from our health to the laws we pass and even how we structure our
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governments and our way of life. This book is required reading for anyone who wants to face the scientific and moral
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challenges of 21st century with a clear head.' - The Death of Expertise
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'Alan Levinovitz provides a bracing corrective to our often misplaced faith in all things derived from nature.
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Throughout its exploration of a fascinating range of issues, from vanilla to wolves, the book is both thoughtful
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and addictively readable.' - The Poison Squad
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