Are We Two or One with Nature?
- Ana Petriashvili
- Oct 5
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 5
Exploring Our Connection to the Environment and Identity
Woody Allen once joked that he was “two with nature,” a humorous twist on the idiom “being one with something.” But behind the humour lies an uncomfortable truth: many people might actually feel disconnected from nature, with alarming consequences for the environment.
Why Feeling Connected to Nature Matters
It has often been proposed that humans are more likely to protect and preserve nature if they feel connected to it. In a previous blog, we discussed environmental value systems — especially biospheric values — and how they shape our attitudes and behaviors toward the natural world.
A sense of connectedness to nature fosters these biospheric values. This is a lifelong developmental process: the more we feel part of nature, the stronger our sense of obligation to protect it. After all, harming nature might feel like harming oneself. When nature becomes part of one’s identity, protecting it becomes not just desirable but necessary.
"most of my work relates to man and nature and the unbreakable bond between the two. I think the important thing is that there is communication between the two. This is one of the beauties of art." Herman Lohe
How Values Shape Our Identity
The Difference Between Values and Self-Identity
Values are abstract principles that guide what we strive for in life. Self-identity, on the other hand, is how we see ourselves. Many people endorse biospheric values, yet only a minority integrate them into their identity as environmentally-friendly individuals.
Still, values significantly influence our identity. If environmental protection is our guiding principle, then we see ourselves as individuals who should act in accordance with this belief.
But this perception is somehow lost and we fail to translate it into behavior. This is why it is so important to discuss environmental self-identity and its link to nature connectedness, which ultimately determines our actions.
Environment as Part of Our Self-Identity
Environmental self-identity refers to the extent to which we see ourselves as the type of person who acts in environmentally-friendly ways. Someone with a strong environmental self-identity is more likely to act pro-environmentally.
Research has shown that environmental identity — seeing oneself in relation to nature — affects not only environmental attitudes but also behavior. Importantly, environmental self-identity and environmental identity, while related, are not the same:
Environmental identity = seeing yourself as part of nature.
Environmental self-identity = seeing yourself as a person who acts pro-environmentally.
You might feel part of nature, but if you don’t see environmental problems as linked to your actions, you may not behave in environmentally friendly ways.
From Values to Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Self-Identity
Studies suggest that environmental self-identity mediates the relationship between biospheric values and actual behaviour.
Values represent our ideal self.
Environmental self-identity reflects our actual self, shaped by our behaviors.
Since the actual self is a stronger predictor of behaviour than the ideal self, environmental self-identity plays a crucial role in translating values into concrete actions.
The Self-Expansion Model: Including Nature in Our Identity
How do we expand our identity to include nature? The self-expansion model provides answers. It proposes that close relationships expand the self by incorporating others’ traits and perspectives. Similarly, people can expand their identity by including aspects of the natural environment.
From this perspective, self-nature connection is the extent to which an individual includes nature within his/her cognitive representation of self. If harming nature feels like harming oneself, then protecting nature becomes an essential expression of identity.
"I also want to be able to really spend time in the wild. There is a certain kind of focus that manifests itself when spending time in the wilderness. A feeling of belonging, that you're a part of everything around you." Herman Lohe
From Abstract Obligation to Essential Self
Whether we feel "two with nature" or "one with nature" has profound, quantifiable implications for our planet. This shift is not merely philosophical; it represents a fundamental change in our motivational structure.
When we expand our self-identity to include the natural world, environmental care stops being an abstract obligation imposed by external biospheric values and becomes an essential expression of who we are.
The research suggests that this environmental self-identity acts as the crucial mediator: it translates the desire of our ideal self (our values) into the reality of our actual self (our behavior). For someone with a strong environmental self-identity, protecting the planet is no longer a conscious choice but a necessary, automatic action because harming nature feels like harming oneself. By fostering this deep connection, we move beyond just endorsing green values to living them, ensuring that our commitment to the environment is not temporary, but deeply integrated into our core identity.
Leave your thoughts in the comments. What do you think, are we one or two with nature? And how should we try to expand our identity in order to become more environmentally friendly in our real actions?
Cover photo: Herman Lohe, Adagio, 2020 (still from the video)
The information presented this blog-post is based on research. Key references include:
Martin, C., & Czellar, S. (2017). Where do biospheric values come from? A connectedness to nature perspective. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 52, 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.04.009
Martin, C., & Czellar, S. (2016). The extended Inclusion of Nature in Self scale. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 47, 181–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.05.006
Hinds, J., & Sparks, P. (2008). Engaging with the natural environment: The role of affective connection and identity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28(2), 109–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.11.001
Van der Werff, E., Steg, L., & Keizer, K. (2013). The value of environmental self-identity: The relationship between biospheric values, environmental self-identity and environmental preferences, intentions and behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 34, 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.12.006
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