Biofilia

Edward O. Wilson is the most important and influential biologist of our time. But Biophilia is not a book about biology. Or not only. They are also unorthodox memoirs, woven together with gripping observations and unexpected anecdotes. As well as a necessary statement of philosophical and ethical positions in a world dominated by the vertigo of the mass extinction of species and climate change. Wilson defines biophilia in these pages as "the drive for association we feel toward other life forms". And he tells us how the millions of years during which Homo sapiens was related in such a close way with its environment created a deep emotional need to be in intimate and constant contact with the rest of the living beings, be they plants or animals. The satisfaction of this vital desire, says Wilson, has the same importance for the human being as the fact of establishing relationships with other people. Just as we feel good about socializing, we find peace and shelter when we walk through the woods, approach the sea, gaze at a wall eaten by vines, or spend the afternoon with our dog. Wilson skillfully connects facts, history, philosophy, evolutionary biology, and his own professional or everyday experiences to demonstrate the existence of that link and the fundamental importance of preserving it. And he also proposes different ways to enliven it, since both our existence and that of the rest of the living beings that accompany us on this planet ultimately depend on the survival of this ancestral connection.