An artist's perception of nature is different than a scientist's.
Biologists operate by the logic of perceiving the world objectively, symbolizing their experience as numbers and objects, doing their best to stand outside and separate, peeking in at nature, albeit observantly, sincerely, wholeheartedly. But to view nature from a perceived outside vantage also voids it of subject; diminishing a personal connectedness, feeling, kinship, obligation, intuition, and other forms of direct relating. Yet it is the way things are perceived in our culture. The objective vantage is the worldview overwhelmingly promoted by our educational system, the basis of environmental policy and legislation, and the grounding of an economic system that denies intrinsic value to the natural world it so skillfully plunders. Our legal system basically categorizes nature as an aspect of property law. The objective vantage is so deeply entrenched within our culture, that many people believe it is the only valid way to perceive reality.
The perception IC promotes nudges our perceptual focus in a different direction.
It's the artist's vantage, the most ancient and yet most modern way to view a blade of grass. Please don't make the mistake of dismissing this view as newage fluff. That's a hoax the despoilers too often lay on your head so you will continue to deny intrinsic value to nature. Interspecies instigates an aesthetic trend to relocate the culture’s center back to the earth. We interact with animals rather than act upon them, encouraging both a bond and a metaphor that demonstrates a much-needed balance in nature. We relate to habitat as alive and sentient, a creative wellspring as much as a place possessed of physical features.
We pay attention to the ancient but largely forgotten premise of esteeming mystery rather than always trying to solve it.
For more info about the aesthetic philosophy that motivates Interspecies, simply browse the site. Or take a look at a magazine interview with founder, Jim Nollman, that appeared in THE SUN. Or read this account from a Seattle Daily newspaper.
