Biophilia as Evolutionary Adaptation: An Onto- and Phylogenetic Framework for Biophilic Design
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative conceptual review and theoretical framework with no new empirical data (design analogy)
OpenAlex W3184144610 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700709
What was done
This narrative conceptual review synthesized literature from evolutionary psychology to define biophilia as an evolutionary adaptation. The authors analyzed typologies of nature across wilderness, rural, and urban environments alongside historical cultural stages (Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Burg) to construct a theoretical framework for biophilic personality traits, environmental preferences, and psycho-physiological recovery thresholds.
What was found
The abstract reports no empirical numbers or quantitative data. It outlines a conceptual model describing biophilia as an innate biological trait shaped by evolutionary history and argues that modern deficits in nature exposure impair physical and mental health, proposing biophilic design as an architectural mechanism to stimulate innate human biophilic responses.
Why it matters
The paper offers a theoretical evolutionary basis to integrate psychological concepts of biophilia into interior and urban design strategies.
Limits
The abstract reports no systematic search strategy, inclusion criteria, or sample sizes. It relies on narrative and theoretical reasoning without primary experimental or observational data to validate the framework or specific exposure thresholds.
Cited by
- context Humans have lived in nature for 99.8% of human evolutionary history and in the built environment for only 0.2%.