ON-LINE EXAMINATION

3.1 What is the relation between human and nature?

Since ancient times, people had been aware of the connection that existed between nature
and humanity. In mythologies, nature was the expression and revelation of the gods and each
natural phenomenon was highly associated with a certain deity. Hence, they believed that gods
communicate to man through nature. Even in the Bible, the man was made to look over
everything that God had made. To put this simply, man was made for nature and vice versa. The
existence of one ought to complement the other. Man and nature were ideally made to benefit
each other.
In the advent of the blinding glory of the industrial revolution, most of the world had
been urbanized. The natural environment was filled with man-made things that destroy nature
more and more every day and alienated him from nature. Civilization had indeed taken away the
sacredness of nature and it is hard to imagine that humanity was once a brother with it.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, many people have once again
appreciated the beauty and essence of nature. In the digital world of stressors, nature provides
peace and positivity that the world has once forgotten.
Santostefano (2008) in his “The Sense of Self Inside and Environments Ourside” stressed
that most people believed that nature provides children and adults with a simulation that
promotes a sense of well-being and psychological development. Nature has always been believed
to be the best place where the human psyche would feel best. As purported by Harold Searles,
nature has the strongest psychological effect on human. He further claimed that natural
environment is one of the most essential ingredients of human psychological existence. In recent
years, nature’s therapeutic role in the human self-discovering process had gained prominence.
Wilderness, as the purest and wildest nature, is said to have the strongest effect on the human
psyche.
In conclusion, humanity has a deep and strong connection with nature. Although this
connection was severed by man’s dependence on technological innovation, human’s physical
and psychological need for nature has not been changed at all. In this time of pandemic, many
attempts had been made to reconcile humans with nature. A reconciliation that could bring
psychological well-being for men in these difficult times of humanity.

4.1 There are three questions to answer in the nature of man: Who am I? How am I related
to other men? and Where am I? Discuss your answers to the three questions.
Humanity has been seeking answers to life’s greatest mysteries and questions since time
immemorial. Understanding oneself and purpose always occupy a stage in human life. Who am
I? How am I related to other men? Where am I? These questions remained as man’s greatest
pursuit in life as understanding oneself is believed to lead a person to see things with a great
understanding of how life works and find true happiness.
Who am I? No one knows you better than yourself. Other people might change your
perspective about yourself, but the final decision about who you are still depending on how you
look at yourself and how you want others to see you. The answers to this critical question are a
matter of self-awareness and firm decision. If you decide to be someone else, no one could stop
you from doing it. Accordingly, the way you see yourself highly influences how other people see
you and vice versa. According to Bill Hybels, who you are when no one is around is your true

JOSHUA J. LUIS BANSUD BRANCH 2020-00140-BS-0

self. This is indeed reasonable for nobody would take the effort to lie to himself. Who are you?
You are the behavior, thoughts, and action when you are alone.
How am I related to other men? No one is an island. This famous adage proved its essence
even in the modern-day. Moreover, man is born social. No matter how introverted a person is,
there is still this desire to connect with other people and find happiness in it. How are you
related to other men? You are connected in a sense that a desire to relate to one another has been
planted in our genes making us social beings. To put it simply, men are born with this purpose:
to help and benefit each other. This purpose could only be realized if we learn to relate and
communicate more- that is being more human.
Where am I? This question further stretches no another question “Where am I going?”
These questions challenge one to come up with an answer that would give humanity a sense of
purpose. King Solomon, known for his extravagant wisdom, also once sought to understand
life’s workings and answer the mysteries of life. He eventually failed and concluded that
everything is meaningless. He further resolved that these unanswered questions were what led
man to God.

JOSHUA J. LUIS BANSUD BRANCH 2020-00140-BS-0