# Humans Can Return to Living as Part of Nature by Tom Murphy > “Humans coexisted with nature for many millennia as a part of nature, not apart from nature. We need to return to being subordinate partners, not self-proclaimed overlords.” > **— Tom Murphy**, *Human Exceptionalism, scientist-maintained authored essay, 2022* ## Sources and Context - **Original publication:** [Human Exceptionalism](https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2022/02/human-exceptionalism/) — scientist-maintained authored essay, 2022; Murphy's ecological prescription in the author-maintained 2022 essay. - **Exact original wording:** “Humans coexisted with nature for many millennia as a part of nature, not apart from nature. We need to return to being subordinate partners, not self-proclaimed overlords.” ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Climate Change Decoded Around Ecological Crisis|Climate Change Decoded Around Ecological Crisis]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] - [[wiki/Planetary Stewardship|Planetary Stewardship]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Humans coexisted with nature for many millennia as a part of nature, not apart from nature. We need to return to being subordinate partners, not self-proclaimed overlords.” — Tom Murphy, Human Exceptionalism https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-tom-murphy-humans-return-living-as-part-nature ```