It’s the River’s call

Rethinking our relationship with nature through the embodied experience of sustainability professionals

Bibliographic Data

ID9891950
AuthorsAna Carolina Pires De Aguiar (0000-0001-6093-7258, Fundação Getúlio Vargas—Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Brazil, corresponding author), Ann L Cunliffe (0000-0001-9399-7716, Fundação Getúlio Vargas—Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Brazil, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume79
Issue5
Pages597-631
Publication date2026-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00187267251355393
OpenAlexW4412638168
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited102

How can we stop taking the natural world for granted and change the way we address the ecological challenges we face? We address this question by drawing on a study of Latin American sustainability professionals who, while spending time in Amazonia, experienced a fundamental ontological shift in the way they understand their relationship with nature. Our theoretical contribution lies in elaborating a phenomenologically oriented relational ontology, which means paying attention to how our bodies/emotions/senses can help us understand our relationship with nature in more embedded and existential ways: as human/subject–nature/subject where both have agency. This extends current relational ontologies by elucidating how feeling nature in the depths of our being can be transformational in how we understand and act upon our ecological responsibilities. We draw on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology as philosophical positioning and interpretative phenomenological analysis as the research method. Four experiential themes highlight how our research participants’ understanding of their relationship with nature changed from separation (human/subject–nature/object) to intertwinement, and impacted their personal and professional lives in significant ways. Experiencing life in this way brings a sense of respect and responsibility for nature that we hope will resonate and encourage readers to think differently about our relationship with nature

Business · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Sustainability · Ecology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Environmental Philosophy and Ethics · Outdoor and Experiential Education · Psychology

Tools

Open DOI