Is nature there for us, or are we nature?

Intelligence

We have placed our intelligence and thinking on such a pedestal that we consider ourselves above other species in this world. As a result, we have forgotten that we are actually very similar to other animals and also plants.

'People have put themselves at the top of the pyramid'

We consider ourselves intelligent because we have brains, but plants can do things that we cannot.
They know exactly which nutrients they need and how to get them.

'Every organism does everything it can to survive until its last breath, including humans'

A portion of humility is therefore appropriate: we are not above nature, but we are part of it, and we seem to have forgotten that.

Anthropocentrism

The belief that man is the center of the universe has negative consequences for the earth. People with this idea believe that everything around us is nothing more than a 'raw material' for humans to use. That increases the chance that you will exploit those resources. Freedom is not unbridled consumption. It seems as if we humans have to give up our lifestyle if we want to take the interests of nature seriously. But our survival as a species and our freedom are precisely linked to the world we share.”
Nature is shaped by the way we (humans) organize matters such as legislation, taxation, land use and economy. We must recognize our place in the natural order instead of fleeing into romantic thoughts.

'While we think we are gaining more and more control over nature, we are increasingly losing control over the planetary systems. Natural laws cannot be tampered with (but human laws can)'

Technology

We think we invented technology with our smart brains and that we are 'in charge' of it, but technology was around before humans appeared on earth. An egg is a perfect piece of technology, just like aerodynamic bird wings, air-conditioned termite mounds and indestructible hexagonal bee combs. Nature's internal memory is in its DNA. Through humans, nature is also evolving into a technological life form with an external memory (AI: we are feeding that memory).

Man as a 'special animal'.
The opposition of humans versus nature and animals has a long history within the Western philosophical tradition of thought. Even the ancient Greek philosophers placed man on a pedestal as a 'special animal' above nature and other animals. Man became a political being capable of reason and cooperation. In addition, man was assigned qualities such as 'instinct' and 'intelligence' through the influence of Christianity.
This perspective regarding the priority position of man continued into Enlightenment thinking, in which the concept of freedom became central. 

“Freedom is an important value, it was also linked to critical thinking and a kind of ideal of equality, but there is also a downside. If you see people as exceptional, you will put yourself first in this world. But this has now created problems in which we take the earth for granted.”

Man acts as if nature is a separate entity.

In almost everything published about nature, it is presented as a separate entity. Like something that starts and ends at a fence. Humans share 40 percent of their DNA with a banana, 50 percent with a fruit fly, 97 percent with an orangutan. He is part of nature; is completely dependent on it before birth, during life and even after death.

Yet another report that concludes that nature is doing badly also says everything about ourselves. As long as we do not act on the understanding of the inseparable reciprocity that exists between humans and their living environment, biodiversity loss and climate change as well as human problems will only increase.