Patience, Attentiveness, and Thoroughness are Naturalist Virtues

Each branch of natural history study demands its special abilities: the superior ear of the birdwatcher, the attention to minute detail of the entomologist, the courage of the herpetologist wading into swamps full of poisonous snakes. But some “field skills” are nearly ubiquitous. Perhaps the most important are patience, perseverance, thoroughness and attentiveness. The birdwatcher searching for that one rare gull on a pond among seven hundred common ones may have to watch for hours in bitter cold, patiently scanning the birds one by one. If his attention flags, he may pass right over the rarity. The same is true for the mushroom seeker or rock hound. Patience, persistence, thoroughness and continuous attentiveness, like muscles, can be developed over time. The heightened awareness they make possible is enjoyable in itself and opens up new worlds of knowledge. They make the world more interesting and allow us to enjoy it without demanding that it crudely entertain us.

Philip Cafaro, The Naturalist’s Virtues

• naturalism
• nature
• virtue