Psychotherapist argues human descriptions of nature reflect internal struggles

Human descriptions of the world are rarely objective, according to psychotherapist and psychoanalyst Meelis Sütt. He posits that our portrayals of reality, relationships, and phenomena are filtered through our psychological defenses, revealing how we manage internal states like ignorance, helplessness, dependence, anxiety, fear, guilt, or shame.

Sütt suggests that language does not merely mediate reality but also reflects our capacity to cope with these difficult emotions. "What is difficult to notice or tolerate within ourselves, we may unconsciously attribute to other people, society, and even nature," he writes.

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Our language does not only mediate reality, but also reflects the ways in which we can cope with ignorance, helplessness, dependence, anxiety, fear, guilt, or shame.

This tendency to project internal conflicts is particularly evident in how humans describe their relationship with nature. Sütt points to the concept of "ecosystem services," as published on the Ministry of Climate's website, as an example. Describing nature through a service-consumer framework, he argues, demonstrates how internal contradictions are unintentionally or carelessly transferred to the natural world.

This perspective challenges a purely utilitarian view of nature, suggesting that our language and framing reveal deeper psychological processes at play. The way we articulate our connection to the environment, Sütt implies, is as much about our inner landscape as it is about the external world.

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What is difficult to notice or tolerate within ourselves, we may unconsciously attribute to other people, society, and even nature.