AI Summary
5 min readIn the book In Trees, Robert Moor argues that the most useful model for how to live well is not a human ideal but a tree. A tree, he says, is not really a noun but a verb—a process of branching, pruning, and gnarling. These three simultaneous operations, which he calls "arborescence," offer a framework for how to grow, edit, and endure. Moor's central question is straightforward: what would it mean to "arborize" humanity instead of anthropomorphizing trees? The answer, he suggests, is a quieter, more patient, and more rigorous way of being in the world.
A tree is a process, not a thing
Moor opens by reading a passage from his book that reframes the tree as a dynamic event rather than a static object. An oak that lives a thousand years appears motionless, but if its life were compressed into seconds, it would look "as violent as a fireworks display." A seed thrusts through soil, unfurls leaves, branches, and branches again. Some limbs are torn off by wind, ice, or disease; others thicken. A tree, Moor writes, "is not only a living being, it is also a way of being." That way of being consists of three processes: branching out wildly, pruning back what does not work, and gnarling—strengthening around wounds. The result is something "inventive, exacting, and long lasting. Something wise."
Branch, prune, gnarl: the three-part framework
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:56) **What a Tree Really Is** - Robert Moor reads a passage defining a tree as a verb, not a noun, and introduces the three processes of arborescence: branching, pruning, and gnarling.
- 2 (08:28) **Arborizing Humanity: The Core Mission** - Moor explains his goal is not to anthropomorphize trees but to “arborize humanity,” using trees as a cognitive tool to help humans grow beyond themselves.
- 3 (11:04) **The Power of Gnarling** - Chris Duffy identifies gnarling as the most moving and surprising concept: a tree’s wounds become its strongest, most defining features.
- 4 (14:39) **Personal Story: A Husband’s Stroke** - Chris Duffy shares the story of her husband Remy’s stroke at 40, connecting it to the process of gnarling and learning to outgrow a calamity.
- 5 (16:27) **A Tree is a Way of Persisting** - Moor reads another passage, explicitly linking the tree’s process of branching, pruning, and gnarling to the development of the human brain.
- 6 (19:05) **The Art and Paradox of Bonsai** - Moor describes his visit to the World Bonsai Convention, explaining how bonsai artists engage in the daily art of pruning, both their trees and themselves.
- 7 (24:25) **Reclaiming the Wild Spirit: The Tree Climber** - Moor recounts his attempt to climb a tree at 33, only to be gripped by a fear he never had as a child, which he recognized as a symptom of being pruned back by adult life and capitalism.
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Show Notes
What can we learn from trees? Robert Moor thinks that the path to a well-lived life lies in trying our best to live like a tree. Branch out, prune what doesn’t work, and make use of the spots where we’ve been injured or broken. Robert talks to Chris about his decade-long project to write a book about the wisdom of trees, which took him from a thousand year old bonsai in Tokyo to a tree-climbing teacher in England and living in the canopy of an old growth forest in Canada to try and prevent its logging. This is an adventurous, far-ranging episode about what it means to be a human and why the answer to that question might just lie in the top branches of the nearest tree.
Featured guest
- Follow Robert Moor on Instagram, X, Bluesky and at robertmoor.com/
- Buy In Trees: An Exploration
Connect with the team
- Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
- Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me
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