My Name is Diane Haynes, and I Am A Biophile

Filed under: Uncategorized, More by Diane Haynes — Diane at 12:18 pm on Monday, August 27, 2007

My latest column appeared in last Wednesday’s Burnaby NOW. I even received my first “fan” letter (thanks again, Jim!). Click here to read the full text, or see below for an excerpt. It begins like this …

“Have you ever noticed that when you learn a new word, suddenly it’s everywhere? It’s as if your learning the word brought it into being.Truth is, it was there all the time, but you just couldn’t see or hear it because you didn’t know it existed. Take “biophila,” for example. “Bio” means life, and “philia” means attraction to, or love.

Now just watch: your two-year-old will use it in a sentence, or it’ll be tomorrow’s Word of the Day in The Vancouver Sun. Biophilia is the love of life and the living world. But it also refers to the affinity we human beings have for other life forms.

My name is Diane Haynes, and I am a biophile.”

2 Comments »

681

Comment by Cam

August 27, 2007 @ 2:54 pm

You’ve brought a word into daily use, Di!

688

Comment by Diane

August 28, 2007 @ 10:38 am

Hi Cam!

I loved this word the first time I read it, back in 2003 while studying animal welfare issues with Dr. David Fraser at UBC. I loved that there was a word for the feeling I experienced every time I encountered another living creature. Okay, well, not when I encounter mosquitos.

:D

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