Research Paper on:
Nature and Cultural Representation

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
has developed a bad habit over recent years in separating himself from the world around him, namely nature and the environment. This individualist and selfish approach to ones existence  is both myopic and faulty, speaking volumes about contemporary humanitys inability to appreciate the intrinsic relationship every entity - living or otherwise - has with all other life. Ancient  cultures fully understood and accepted this truth and duly worshipped those spiritual entities that resided within such living and inanimate objects as animals, trees, streams, and every other aspect of  nature. Even though many diverse populations still look upon the relationship that exists between culture and nature as a synergistic force in their existence, much of contemporary mankind does  not truly realize the intimate association these two entities inherently have with each other. "The resemblances and differences of animal species are translated into terms of friendship and conflict,  solidarity and opposition. In other words the world of animal life is represented in terms of social relations similar to those of human society" (Levi-Strauss, 1971, p. 160).  II. CULTURE AND NATURE The social, political, economical and religious activities experienced in everyday life represent the very essence of what it means  to be a human being. These representations illustrate how and why a person acts the way he or she does, how one attributes moods, feelings and emotions, the way  in which one interacts with another, as well as what governs overall cultural behavior. Working upon the assumption that, for at least the most part, people live their lives  out of habit and routine, philosopher John Dewey postulated that problem solving techniques are borne out of what has already occurred in ones past. If ancient man learned from