From David Strachan, Llanbister, Powys, UK
Richard Smyth’s article “Our true nature” is a valuable corrective to overly mystical interpretations of nature and the claim that a “sense of oneness with nature” is associated with “greater spirituality” and scepticism about “science over faith”. I contend that while science informs and expands our knowledge and love of nature, spirituality, in the sense of connection to something greater than oneself, may emerge unbidden from it, rather than being bolted on. We might experience it through individual proclivity, or even as a beneficial evolutionary trait, which enhances apprehension of our dependency on nature in all its beauty and violence (10 January, p 19).
