What does the word 'Nature' include?

[pmeisenheimer]

@lynkos

But is man part of nature? Well, actually I don’t believe he can be, simply because the word “nature” was invented to describe everything which is not human or human-derived.

I’m pretty sure that the usage refeŕing to innate qualities (e.g. human nature) was the original meaning. Regardless, the idea that humans are separate from what came to be referred to as nature (or Nature) in modern English has a much longer history than that usage, firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian beliefs about creation of the universe, in general, and the creation of humans, in particular. Like many beliefs that are embedded in culture long after they have been shown to be wrong, this concept lives on in a sort of linguistic zombie state, eating the brains of those who seek words with which to converse intelligibly about the world, its biosphere and humanity’s place in it.