The Cognitive Neuroscience of Nature? Sociological and Historical Perspectives on Environmental Neuroscience

This paper analyzes the key sociological, philosophical and historical underpinnings of environmental neuroscience. The paper first outlines the technological and conceptual developments that preceded environmental neuroscience, and grounds the field within a wider context of the ’post-genomic’ sciences. It then turns to earlier attempts to relate human psychology to experiences within specific natural and physical environments going back to the nineteenth century, before asking whether, in particular, recent concerns about urbanization and climate change might have motivated a recent to such research topics. Lastly the paper asks environmental neuroscientists to pay attention to the politics of their field, and especially to the politics of consistently advocating for more ‘natural’ or ‘traditional’ environments for human beings. The paper concludes, optimistically, with an argument that environmental neuroscience is a field ‘in the making,’ with some scope yet to intervene on what will become its core facts and assumptions.