Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism

This collection of classical and contemporary readings is the best single-volume introduction to the emerging field of environmental aesthetics. It will inform and stimulate a renewed discussion of the aesthetic appreciation of nature and why it matters. -- Dale Jamieson, director of environmental studies, professor of environmental studies and philosophy, and affiliated professor of law, New York University This collection is certain to reinvigorate the teaching of environmental aesthetics. The quality of the individual contributions makes it an invaluable resource for those doing research in either the aesthetics of the natural environment or environmental ethics. The readings are so well organized that one feels as though one is on a seamless theoretical voyage-a voyage that ends in the consideration of the very practical issues of environmental design and our moral obligations to the environment in which we live. This book is certain to inspire students to think clearly about beauty in nature and will inspire further scholarship in this rich field of inquiry. -- James Anderson, professor of philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Environmental aesthetics is a field of study that focuses on nature's aesthetic value as well as on its ethical and environmental implications. This book addresses the complex relationships between aesthetic appreciation and environmental issues and emphasizes the contribution that environmental aesthetics can make to environmentalism.Environmental aesthetics is an emerging field of study that focuses on nature's aesthetic value as well as on its ethical and environmental implications. Drawing on the research of a number of disciplines, this exciting new area speaks to scholars working in a range of fields, including not only philosophy, but also environmental and cultural studies, public policy and planning, social and political theory, landscape design and management, and art and architecture. Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty addresses the complex relationships between aesthetic appreciation and environmental issues and emphasizes the valuable contribution that environmental aesthetics can make to environmentalism. Allen Carlson, a pioneer in environmental aesthetics, and Sheila Lintott, who has published widely in aesthetics, combine important historical essays on the appreciation of nature with the best contemporary research in the field. They begin with classic pieces by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau, John Muir, John Burroughs, and Aldo Leopold, as well as an essay by Eugene Hargrove that lays out the scientific, artistic, and aesthetic foundations of current environmental beliefs and attitudes. The second section of the book addresses prevailing views on the conceptualization of nature and the various debates on how to properly and respectfully appreciate nature. The third section introduces positive aesthetics, the belief that everything in nature is essentially beautiful, even the devastation caused by earthquakes or floods. The essays in the final section explicitly bring together aesthetics, ethics, and environmentalism to explore the ways in which each might affect the others.