Seeing Nature Whole

Craig Holdrege in conversation with John Gouldthorpe Can we imagine the world from a mole’s perspective? In our latest episode, host John Gouldthorpe invites us to understand what this might entail by listening to a reading of Craig Holdrege’s book excerpt, “How Does a Mole View the World.” The reading is followed by a conversation with Craig about its central point: How to avoid mechanistic and anthropomorphic interpretations of animal life and instead apprehend each creature’s unique way of being.

For more than 20 years, our senior researcher — Steve Talbott — has been building a body of work that illuminates natural phenomena and calls for a qualitative approach to examining organisms. In this talk, given at the Institute in November, 2021, Steve describes his theme (with tongue-firmly-in-cheek) as an offering of "notes from desperately unsatisfactory encounters with the living interior of self and world, along with intimations of their meaning for science."

Inspired by the ancient Greek concepts of the four elements — Earth, Water, Air, and Fire — the German physicist Georg Maier wrote an essay in 1970 describing how we can work with these concepts to find expanded ways of scientific research and engagement with nature. Henrike Holdrege, co-founder of The Nature Institute, who translated Maier’s essay into English, speaks in this episode about his central ideas.

An excerpt from The Physical Mystery of Life by E.L Watson (1943), and the article “Genes and Life: The Need for Qualitative Understanding” by Craig Holdrege (1999) In this first of a two-episode series highlighting the ever-cogent pieces in our premier issue of the institute’s publication, In Context #1 (Spring 1999), host John Gouldthorpe reads a selection on the mysterious capacities of the female potter wasp, by E.L. Grant Watson, and an article by Craig Holdrege that reflects on the question, “Which of our genes make us human?”

In this 2021 talk by Craig Holdrege, given at the online launch of his new book, Craig shares experiences and observations that demonstrate an integrative practice of viewing animals and their development. Ultimately it is about a different way of relating to nature. A sensitive way. And that  matters.

In this talk, educator Jon McAlice speaks about Resonant Space as a consciousness experience that is alive and meaningful. He outlines Goethe’s approach to engaging with the world of phenomena as a path that lets us glimpse the resonant relationship that exists between human consciousness and the natural world.

A conversation with Craig Holdrege, director of The Nature Institute and author of "Thinking Like a Plant: A Living Science for Life," about an organic way of knowing modeled after the way plants live: dynamic and resilient, thriving in intimate connection with their environment.

How can we help our children grow up to become caring and responsible stewards of the earth, and what is the role of media and direct experience in the education we provide them? These are some of the questions that Craig Holdrege takes up in this talk that he gave on March 24th, 2018, at the Winkler Center for Adult Education in Garden City, NY.