FROM NATURE TO IMAGES OF NATURE - Societies know nature through the ideas they have of its use. There is no pure knowledge of nature but only knowledge that is defined by its practical utliization. Consequently, there is no description of nature but constructed images of nature determined by the culture of each society. As Heidegger noted the main objective of the control of nature is its utilization. Societies release two mechanicisms for using and therefore knowing nature : domestication and simulation. The former begins with a scale at 1/1, then creates images of nature at scales of 1/n (n is larger than 1). This leads to hypertrophy and atrophy. Finally, by domestication societies caricature nature and produce a new nature, a model which is adapted to their needs. In contrast simulation begins by making images at the scale of 1/n which are developed up to the scale 1/1. Until XVIIIth century, domestication was predominant whereas today it seems the simulation is more important. More and more people are seeking to achieve a coincidence between ideas of nature and what they create by simulation.