Any natural phenomenon, i.e., any event which occurs without human
participation, is the metaphysically given, and could not have occurred
differently or failed to occur; any phenomenon involving human action is the
man-made, and could have been different. For example, a flood occurring in an
uninhabited land, is the metaphysically given; a dam built to contain the flood
water, is the man-made; if the builders miscalculate and the dam breaks, the
disaster is metaphysical in its origin, but intensified by man in its
consequences. To correct the situation, men must obey nature by studying the
causes and potentialities of the flood, then command nature by building better
flood controls.