Natural: Reconsidered

After two posts tearing the word apart, it's time to try putting it back together. Natural means something real. What is needed is a new definition, one that both encompasses the many nuances of nature, and is not so vague that it can refer to anything.

For starters, we must accept that this giant ball in space is natural, and wonderful.

A view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut on Artemis II

What We Got Wrong

Natural, as a descriptive term, has been overused and its meaning diluted to the point where the word has lost its usefulness. Instead of rehashing the how natural has been misused, let me illustrate costs of its semantic dilution. What originally started as a word used to describe the complexities and patterns found in nature, has become a marketing ploy designed to exploit our inherent love and fascination for the planet.

There is something innate about liking things that we think are natural. But because we have lost the true meaning of natural, we are easily duped into incorrect thinking. What’s worse is when natural is connected with behaviors or practices that degrade and harm the living world (us included). These natural traps are everywhere, yet often go unnoticed. Maybe no industry has co-oped the the term natural better than the fossil fuel industry—natural gas.

Natural gas cover. Image from Wikimedia.

Natural gas is a great example of the complexities found in the words defintion. The term "natural gas" originated in the early 1800s, when the word "natural" was added to distinguish it from man-made coal gas, which was the dominant fuel of the era. Natural gas as we understand it, comes with the assumption that it will be used (burned) as a means of generating energy. So while natural gas is a naturally occurring substance found within the earth, burning it, which has costly environmental impacts, might not be so natural.

Knowing when to call things natural can be very complicated. What's needed is a new definition—one that considers both the etymology and the normative implications of the word.

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