Wise woods

"There is peace even in the storm." So said painter Vincent van GoghA Dutch artist who painted The Starry Night in 1889 while staying in a French mental asylum after suffering a breakdown. He died by suicide the following year.. Few artists have done more to capture the sublime chaotic beauty of nature.

Yesterday the British Isles got the chance to experience this peace for themselves as Storm Isha blazed a path across the northern Atlantic.

The damage was intense. Across the UK, 70,000 homes were left without power.¹ Roads were blocked by fallen trees and planes were rerouted: in one case, a flight to Dublin from Manchester had to be rerouted 500 miles to Paris to escape the 99mph winds.²

But outside storms like Isha, the wonderful calm of nature can inspire its own reflections. This week 17-year-old Lilly Zhang won the 15-18 years category in the 2023 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards for a stunning photo of Marsh Creek Lake in Exon, Pennsylvania, USA. Its breathtaking tranquillityPeace or state of calm. in a week of such chaos is a reminder that awe can be found at both extremes of nature.

Here are six lessons we can draw from these two poles, Storm Isha and Lilly's photo:

Wild ride. Since the 17th Century, European thinkers like Francis BaconAn English philosopher, writer, scientist, lawyer, and politician (1561-1626). have argued that humanity must conquer nature.³ Isha reminds us that nature cannot be controlled.

Working together. Instead, we can look to the lessons of Chinese philosophy. According to DaoistAlso known as Taoist. A great religious and philosophical tradition of China, emphasising living in harmony. thought, humanity must live in accordance with the laws of nature.⁴

Unthinking, uncaring. German philosopher Friedrich NietzscheIn 1869, the German philosopher became the youngest person ever to hold the University of Basel's Chair of Classical Philology. He was 24.   tells us that nature is neither friend nor foeEnemy. : it simply does not care about us at all.⁵ As such, he argued, we cannot look to nature for a set of values.

Waste time well. Animals spend much of their energy doing things that they do not need to: playing, exploring, caring for each other. A storm, too, is one big waste of energy.

Circular economy. Nonetheless, nature does not let any matter go to waste. All the trees knocked down by Storm Isha will provide food to millions of creatures great and small.

Wind power. Finally, we know the energy storms create does not all need to go to waste either. The high winds of a storm like Isha are a stunning spectacle but they might also be the key to our future. If we devoted three million square kilometres to wind turbines, they could supply all of humanity's winter energy needs.⁶

Is nature the source of all wisdom?

Yes: Since the beginning of time and across the globe, thinkers have been inspired by nature. And today it can still make us think about our place in the world and how we should live in it.

No: We are well beyond the bounds of what nature can teach us. Nature has not given us the secrets of quantum physicsThe study of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level. , fine art, or supply and demand: we have had to work them out for ourselves.

Or... Human beings are part of nature. When we observe it, we are observing ourselves in it. We should stop treating it like it is something external to us.