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Letter: Musings on our relationship with nature (2)

Published 21 January 2026

From Andrew Whiteley, Consett, County Durham, UK

Smyth is absolutely right that there are no lessons to be learned from nature. Morality and meaning cannot be obtained from nature or its study; their true source is elsewhere. It is hard not to feel that the deification of nature is a substitute for traditional religious belief. The fundamental question is: is nature – the material universe – all there is?

Issue no. 3579 published 24 January 2026

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