The natural sciences provide us with one kind of information about our environment. For some it is the only kind of information worth considering, but we need also to think about the cultural framework in which the sciences are embedded. These are only some of the complexities which arise from the interaction of people and the biophysical systems of this planet. Interpreting Nature examines the ways in which nature has been explored and interrogated by both the sciences and the humanities, including the social sciences. It is not a book of advocacy, but a statement of the richness and range of environmental information and thinking which results from the human imagination. It is especially for those who wish to extend their cognition of the environment beyond the immediate findings of positivist natural and social sciences while not losing sight of their valuable contributions to human societies.