Dr. Alan Levinovitz' book 'Natural' catches the public eye

Join us in congratulating Dr. Alan Levinovitz, Associate Professor of Religion, on the publication of his newest book Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science from Penguin Random House this spring. His work has been praised in the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian, among other media outlets.

The book investigates how "Nature" and "natural" have come to function as secular synonyms for "God" and "holy," in all aspects of life, from child-rearing to economic theory. Dr. Levinovitz says, "I became interested in the meaning of natural when researching people's attitudes towards food, and discovered that 'natural' was essentially synonymous with 'good,' even though it meant something different to everyone who used it. It's a key feature of virtually all religions and philosophical traditions, and so I find myself pointing out appeals to 'nature' and 'naturalness' in nearly all of my classes, and especially in Religion and Medicine (REL 425)."

Dr. Levinovitz is a specialist in Chinese religions and comparative ethics. He teaches several courses that explore the intersections between religion, literature, and science.