science

Social nature

Social nature is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Social nature rather than just read about it. In short: Social Nature is the core concept of a geographical work on the social construction of nature, entitled Social nature: theory, practice and politics, which was published by Noel Castree and Bruce Braun in 2001. The book states that the concept of Social Nature was created by critical geographers and embraces the idea of a socialized nature.

Key takeaways

Social nature belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Social nature to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Social nature from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Social Nature is the core concept of a geographical work on the social construction of nature, entitled Social nature: theory, practice and politics, which was published by Noel Castree and Bruce Braun in 2001. The book states that the concept of Social Nature was created by critical geographers and embraces the idea of a socialized nature. Critical geographers such as David Harvey and Neil Smith "insisted that nature is social in three related ways":

Knowledge "of nature is invariably inflected with the biases of the" knowers, "Though knowledges of nature are social through and through, the social dimensions of nature are not reducible to knowledge alone", Societies "physically reconstitute nature, both intentionally and unintentionally", to the point of internalizing nature into social processes (particularly in advanced Western societies).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Social nature

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Social nature claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Social nature before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Social nature ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Social nature

In research: Social nature appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Social nature in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Social nature is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anthropology stubs, Environmental social science stubs, Geography stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Social nature outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Social nature” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Social nature in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Social nature means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Social nature out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Social nature in simple terms?

Why does Social nature matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Social nature?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Social nature.