Care and wonder motivate naturalist practices such as learning about biodiversity, travelling to encounter wildlife, contributing to citizen science, supporting conservation initiatives, and sharing nature with children. These practices may place humans apart from the more-than-human world, though, revealing the paradox that expressions of love for nature contribute to its harm.

The Naturalist’s Paradox invites readers to consider how these practices rooted in care can objectify the living world through scientific or colonial frameworks, reinforcing the human–nature divide at the heart of biodiversity loss and climate weirding. Some tensions are readily apparent – for example, the carbon emissions and voyeuristic tendencies of ecotourism – while others are more subtle: the endless collection of data on biodiversity loss can become a substitute for more meaningful action. Weaving environmental and social sciences with philosophy and poetry, Larson contrasts the Anthropocene logic of naturalism with philosopher Glenn Albrecht’s call for a move toward the Symbiocene, an era in which human and more-than-human life reintegrate.

Offering vivid examples, broader reflections, and practical prompts, without attempting to resolve the paradoxes, Larson guides naturalists and nature lovers through discomfiting questions, providing firmer ground and hope for our relationship with Earth’s living beings.