biophilia

[ bahy-oh-fil-ee-uh, ‑-feel-yuh ]

noun

1. a love of life and the living world; the affinity of human beings for other life forms.

biophilia

/ ˌbaɪəʊˈfɪlɪə /

noun

1. an innate love for the natural world, supposed to be felt universally by humankind

Word History and Origins

Origin of biophilia¹

1960–65; from New Latin: literally, “love of life” from bio- ( def ) + -philia ( def ); coined by Erich Fromm in The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil (1964) to mean “love for humanity and nature, and independence and freedom”; extended by Edward O. Wilson in Biophilia (1984) to mean “the rich, natural pleasure that comes from being surrounded by living organisms.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of biophilia¹

C20: bio + -philia

Example Sentences

Fisher: I think the No. 1 thing is being in harmony with nature: seeing the light move through at different times of day, feeling the air move through the building, seeing trees and bushes and these little courtyards — that notion of biophilia.

From Los Angeles Times

Thus American society stands broadly convicted of necrophilia — as opposed to biophilia.

From Salon

"There's an idea called biophilia that basically says that our evolution over hundreds of thousands of years has got us to have more of a connection or a love of natural living things," said Strayer, a professor of psychology.

From Science Daily

Scientists today refer to the biophilia hypothesis, in which we are — as the name suggests — drawn to nature through deeply evolved attractions to favorable landscapes.

From Washington Post

In these gentle but stirring essays, writer Kay Harel happily diagnoses Charles Darwin with “a singular case of biophilia,” or profound love of life, that engenders empathy, creativity and an intuitive sense of truth.

From Scientific American