I think secular humanists, as the present leaders of civilization, are set on de-wilding the wilderness. We aim to spread civilization, which means defanging wildness. We aim to humanize nature, to domesticate it so it serves us. For good or for ill, that's what most of our lifestyles entail.

Scientists think of "chaotic systems," I think, because they mean to analyze nature, to break it down into parts that can be conquered.