Research

Research

Bodies of Nature: The Body as an Ecosystem

Have we become alienated from the nature within our bodies? Is nature something that exists outside of us, or does it also live within us? And to whom does the body actually belong?

The human body is not composed solely of human cells. Within us live 30 to 40 trillion microorganisms: bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa. Roughly half of our body is human; the other half consists of these non-human life forms. The body is therefore not a closed entity, but a living ecosystem.

Perhaps we need to let go of the idea of a strict separation between human and nature. But how do we do that? If we ourselves are already nature, what does it mean, for example, to embrace the Earth? Maybe it is less a gesture toward something outside of us, and more an encounter between related bodies.

Theoretical framework

The Ecological Self and Making Kin

In the late 1980s, Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess introduced the concept of the Ecological Self. He argued that the individual does not exist separately from their environment but is intrinsically connected to all life forms within the ecosystem. Caring for the Earth, in this view, is not an altruistic act but a form of self-care.

Donna Haraway likewise rejects the separation between nature and culture. In her thinking, they form an entangled whole: natureculture. She invites us to reimagine relationships between humans, animals, technology, and environment.

A key concept in her work is making kin: the active creation of relationships. “Kin” here does not refer to biological family, but to those we consider allies and co-inhabitants of the world. Haraway advocates an ethic of care, responsibility, and solidarity—not only among humans, but also with non-human entities such as animals, plants, and ecosystems.

Bodies of Nature practices making kin through performative means: by moving together, breathing with and within the nature in and around us, in order to explore alternative ways of being together with the world.