Heavenly zoology

Abstract

In the Genesis, the Creator gives just one job to the first human: to name animals. Hence, zoologists are on a mission for God! Whatever our personal beliefs, it is very probable that zoology is the basis of our culture. We were hunters, and we had to know animals. We were also gatherers, and so botany is part of our cultural heritage too. Probably males, the hunters, were zoologists, and females, the gatherers, were botanists: our culture started with the study of biodiversity, as witnessed by the cave paintings that make up our first cultural expressions. Strangely enough, when culture became Culture, the knowledge of Nature lost its appeal and we started to become more abstract, developing many other forms of culture that, in general, we ascribe to the Humanities. It is undeniable, however, that we survive just because of the goods and services that we derive from Nature! Apparently, this truism has been forgotten. We give more importance to many other things, and disregard Nature, taking it for granted. We are more interested in the economic capital than in the natural capital. However, we cannot survive if we destroy the natural capital. And we are destroying it. Yes, we all agree that nature is important, and we sign documents, such as the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, that clearly state that the protection of Nature is a priority. But then we do not care much, and we all agree that the economic capital has to grow, ignoring a very simple natural law: if something grows, something else degrows. The growth of the economic capital usually occurs at the expense of the natural capital. Nothing new. The “naturalists” have been delivering this message for ages. The tragedy is that there is no disagreement about the priorities, and they are clearly stated. But then we behave as if they were not priorities at all. Now, those who care about Nature have a strong ally: a person living in a small state nested in the capital of Italy. His name is Jorge Bergoglio but, some years ago, he changed his name to Francis, due to a new role he was elected to play: the Pope. Francis has recently published an Encyclical entitled Laudato Sì, with the subtitle: On care for our common home. It can be found here: https://laudatosi.com/watch The message is very simple. Economy is ruling our relationship with Nature (our common home) and we are mismanaging it. The words Francis uses are very familiar to us. Ecology occurs 33 times, Species 29 times, Ecosystem 25, Biodiversity 8, even Plankton and inconspicuous species are considered: “Particularly threatened aremarine organismswhichwe tend to overlook, like some forms of plankton; they represent a significant element in the ocean food chain, and species used for our food ultimately depend on them”. Evolution is taken for granted, as reported in this sentence: “Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution”! For once, religion and science go hand in hand, as Francis tells us: “... science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both”. The times during which people like Giordano Bruno or Galileo Galilei were either set on fire or forced to deny the value of their discoveries, due to contrast with the Holy Books, are over (at least in our part of the planet). The biblical job of “naming animals” means to know Nature, and the Creator, if you believe in these things, wants us to be knowledgeable, especially about Nature. If there is a hell, it is burning for those who did not understand the message of the Bible: Hell burns for them, not for us. It took some millennia, but now, finally, the true message has been clarified by the most qualified authority in this field. And we can be relieved to realize that zoologists go to Heaven. Francis, furthermore, addresses his message to all humans, and not only to the believers in the religion he represents. The problem is ecological, not religious. Religion is just helping science deliver the message. Or vice versa! Darwin (who was agnostic) was afraid about the consequences of his books on the religious beliefs of his contemporaries (especially his wife). I think he would have liked this Encyclical very much.