BQ: What is Your Biophilia Quotient and What Does it Mean?

Vanessa Woods, Research Scientist
Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University
Horticultural Sciences, North Carolina State University

It has been 40 years since the late E.O. Wilson proposed the term biophilia, the “emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms.” Recently, the way we think about biophilia has changed. Rather than an attraction to the natural world that is present at the same intensity in everyone, we now think of biophilia more as a temperament trait. While some people flourish in the natural world, others prefer to spend their time indoors, away from bugs and unpleasant weather. Find out where you measure in BQ (Biophilia Quotient), and find out how we can join conservationists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists in finding a way for people to live with nature and amidst nature, while slowing the disappearance of the plants and wildlife that bring us all joy.