Humorous Naturalism

We often approach nature with solemnity, treating it as sacred or serious. Yet the Hodja found the sacred in the ridiculous—his donkey is as wise as his philosophy, his foolish neighbors contain profound truth. Humorous Naturalism invites us to notice and delight in nature's comedy: the awkward waddle of penguins, the absurd appearance of a naked mole rat, the desperation of a mosquito, the absurd human attempts to garden 'naturally.' This humor creates affection that reverence alone cannot generate. When we laugh at a crow stealing a sandwich, we're connected to that crow; when we notice the ridiculous courtship dance of a bird of paradise, we enter into genuine relationship. Humor also dissolves the distance between ourselves and other creatures, revealing our kinship. The Hodja's wisdom lies partly in showing that divine order includes slapstick, that wisdom can arrive through laughter, that the natural world—including our own animal nature—is wonderfully, redemptively funny. This concept rescues biophilia from preciousness, allowing it to include the robust, lusty, ridiculous aliveness that makes us actually love the world rather than virtuously care for it.